


Paper Sky Peels Off the Walls

by xxoceanswavesxx



Series: The One to Make It Stay [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate POVs, F/M, Finally, Lukanette, Missing Scenes, Mouse Miraculous, Ox Miraculous, adrien's pov of rsp and atlwhitp, again finally, ch 2 is adrien's POV, ch 3 is nino's pov, ch. 10 is alya's pov again, ch. 11 is luka's pov, ch. 12 is felix's pov, ch. 13 is kagami's pov, ch. 4 is ivan's pov, ch. 5 is alya's pov, ch. 6 is a day in the life of jagged, ch. 7 contains spoilers for all the laughs ch. 2, ch. 8 contains spoilers for all the laughs ch. 2, ch. 8 is gabriel's pov, ch. 9 is adrien's pov again, explanation for the ladyblog, he writes "investigative logs" aka a diary, he's really nice to his intern, it does not go well for lila, it's also juleka's chapter and sad, ivan and mylene debut as heroes, kagami is not impressed, lila and kagami meet, lila attempts to crash a lukanette date in ch 1, lila being manipulative, luka and lila meet, marinette gets to be happy, ml s3 au, nino makes some revelations, plagg is done with everything, things aren't going so well for plagg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2020-10-14 08:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20598104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxoceanswavesxx/pseuds/xxoceanswavesxx
Summary: Side stories set throughout "The One to Make It Stay", including alternate perspectives.





	1. The Evening Mist Melts Away

“_ Down falls the sun, I run to meet you. The evening mist melts away and down smiles the moon, and soon your lips recall. _ ” ( _ All Through the Day by Asobi Seksu) _

With rehearsal ending early and the varsity jackets finished, Marinette concludes that today is a good day. It only gets better when Luka invites her out to get ice cream at the new parlor that opened at the other side of the city, and they decide to enjoy a nice stroll along the way.

“Wow, look at the sky,” she points as they cross over the bridge, “Man, I need to make my next outfit have watercolors that match this. Ooh, but I should take a photo for reference.”

“Done,” Luka says, holding up his phone. Sure enough, her back is to the camera as she points to the sky, completely in awe, “I have to say, this is some of your best lighting too.”

“_ Luka _,” she laughs, “How did you take that photo so quick?”

“I had my GPS out to make sure I knew where I was going,” he says, “Switching to the camera was pretty easy.”

Clinging to his arm and resting her head against his shoulder, Marinette thinks about how nothing could ruin this day.

And then she sees Lila walking down the street.

“Oh, hi, Marinette,” she says cheerfully, though looking into her eyes, there’s a dark tint that indicates to Marinette that she’s planning something. She feels Luka stiffen beside her, but maintains a neutral face. “I didn’t think I’d see you out and about. Have you seen Alya lately?”

“No. I haven’t,” she says evenly, “We’ve both been busy.”

There’s the smallest track of a smirk on Lila’s face as she walks a bit closer to them, standing in front of Luka. “Oh, I see. And would that have anything to do with your new friend here?” She pokes his chest with a lone finger, and begins to trace a line down the middle.

Her stomach lurches. That’s a bad move on Lila’s part, and she doesn’t have to look at Luka to know how annoyed he is by this. Thankfully, he quickly but gently pushes her hand away.

“Actually, I’m Marinette’s boyfriend. And I would really appreciate it if you didn’t touch me like that.”

Lila’s eyes flutter. She seems to realize the expression she has and quickly stammers to recover. “O-Oh, I’m so sorry! It’s just, this is how we pal around back in Italy! I swear, it’s nothing _ flirtatious _.”

“I see. But we’re not in Italy right now, and most guys around here don’t like it when someone they barely know tries to get too familiar with them. I don’t think my girlfriend likes it either,” he says, shooting Marinette a side glance, “Now, if you can excuse us, we have things to do.”

Marinette only manages to hold back the laughter until they make all the way across the bridge.

“Okay, you are officially the best boyfriend ever!”

He laughs. “I couldn’t let her push you around like that. We’re a team,” he says leaning into her ear, “With or without the masks.”

Yes, the day had been good indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since there's been some confusion in the comments, this first chapter takes place in between "White Hot Morning" and "The Radio Still Plays." I'll try to specify the timeframe for later installments.


	2. Hearing Only Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's POV during "Puppeteer 2".

“ _ Hearing only yourself, you wait for the truth. How can you get it when all you do is slide?” (Slide by Low) _

\--

He collapses on his bed after releasing his transformation. Plagg flies above him, shaking his head.

"You know, this is getting pretty bad."

Adrien sighs, staring up at the ceiling. It feels like he had been on a nice vacation that got ruined by the worst rainstorm - seeing himself, even if under akuma influence, confess to Ladybug, thinking she had finally returned his feelings. Something finally allowed for her to be true to herself and admit her real feelings to him.

As of half an hour ago, that hope had been dashed. Not only did she remind him of his rival, but now, she was dating said rival. Why hadn't she told him sooner? He throws his pillow up in the air and grunts when it hits him in the face.

"I know, Plagg. I can't believe how unreasonable she's being."

A long pause settles over the two, as Plagg's scrutinizing glare studies him, as if he needed to clarify what Adrien just said. "I can't believe I'm about to pull a Tikki."

"A what?"

"Are you completely out of your mind?" he practically shrieks, "You're in the wrong and you get mad at Ladybug after violating her space?"

He frowns. Now Plagg was getting on his case? Could the night get any worse? Rolling his eyes, he asks, "Now you're lecturing me? C'mon, Plagg, you used to be fun."

"Kid, there's a major difference between 'fun' and 'unwanted harassment, especially when it comes to love," he says. Adrien is surprised that Plagg doesn't shudder from disgust like he typically does. In fact, his expression doesn't falter in the slightest. "Fun is a two way street where all parties enjoy themselves, while harassment is continued even when made clear it’s not welcome at this party. And you were kicked out a while ago.”

The argument continues well into the night, until finally, they both give up and retire to bed.

\-- 

The only thing that puts Adrien into a good mood the next day is the fact that he and Nino were finally going to be able to hang out together at the wax museum exhibit. The last time he recalled spending time with his friends was at the picnic the class threw for Heroes’ Day, and even then, he had to leave early due to “prior commitments.” Nino, on the other hand, started spending more of his free time with Alya, and was glad to get a guy’s day out…

...until Alya insisted upon coming with them and inviting Marinette.

Personally, Adrien didn’t mind. The more, the merrier! Plus, none of them had really hung out with Marinette much after she started spending more time with Kitty Section. He wasn’t really sure when that became a thing. Personally, he was glad for it, since it kept Marinette from going after Lila and focused on something else. And if she was coming with them, he’d get to know more about it.

That was, until Alya scowled upon receiving a message.

“She’s going there with  _ Luka _ !” she huffs, “Can you believe her?”

He notes Nino’s awkward expression, looking like he wants to say something, but decides not to. Adrien isn’t sure what to make of it. Instead, he says, “That’s great. Then we’ll be able to meet them there, and my dad won’t have an issue with the tickets.”

Alya casts him a pointed glare, and he gulps.

“Um, I mean, not that Marinette would be a problem or anything, but you know how difficult my dad can be…”

Sighing, she returns her gaze back toward the window. He’s not quite sure why Nino and Alya aren’t looking at each other, but he does know that he doesn’t like it. It’s supposed to be a day of fun, so why do they look so miserable?

Alya immediately pulls the two of them inside, not even bothering to wait for Nathalie or the Gorilla. He feels a bit bad - he doesn’t want either of them getting in trouble with his father. But he also doesn’t want to risk angering Alya and provoking another akuma before the day even started.

“I can’t even believe she’s acting like this,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s acting like she doesn’t even want to be friends anymore!”

“That seems a bit extreme,” Nino replies, only to flinch when he receives a hard stare from his girlfriend. “Er, but you may have a point.”

_ Doesn’t want to be friends anymore _ ? Adrien frowns at the idea. Marinette was the sort to get along with all sorts of people, so thinking she would only become friends with other people out of spite seemed out there. Still, maybe she took his comments about Lila the wrong way, and that encouraged her to turn a cold shoulder. 

He feels a stirring in his shirt pocket. Plagg is hanging out, though won’t look at him. Thinking about his conversation about fun the previous evening, Adrien comes up with a genius idea that will be sure to get Marinette to come around.

_ After all, laughter  _ is  _ the best medicine _ !

After walking through a gallery, Alya finally manages to catch Marinette and goes to confront her. As he and Nino approach the elevator, he waits for the door to open, before signalling to Nino that he’ll meet up later. From there, he sneaks into the gallery, careful not to get anyone else’s attention, and poses among the statues.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Plagg sighs.

_ “Quiet _ , Plagg,” Adrien hisses, “This is going to be great!”

_ _ The room tenses as Luka and Manon leave, with Alya and Marinette caught up in their conversation. He wonders if he should move up and get closer, but he doesn’t want to risk getting caught.

“What is with you?”

“What’s  _ with  _ me is that you ignored my calls and then snuck off to get out of confessing,” Alya huffs, “I’m only trying to help you, but you’re being such a baby.”

He frowns. Weren’t Marinette and Luka dating? Or close to it? It seemed from the way that they were babysitting Manon together that they were a couple. Plus, they went on a double date with him at the ice rink, and Marinette seemed pretty into him then. So why would Marinette need Alya’s help confessing?

“But I don’t want to confess to Adrien.”

It takes every muscle in his body to keep his eyes from widening.  _ Him?  _ She had feelings for  _ him _ ? Then why was she going out with Luka? There had to be some sort of misunderstanding. Clearly, he and Marinette were only friends, right? The only logical explanation he could think of was her previously having a crush on him, but moving on to Luka after their double date. He wished she would have at least told him. It was weird finding out this way.

“That’s exactly my point. Now come on, Adrien is waiting for you.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no? This is your one chance to confess to Adrien!”

“We’ll talk about this later, Alya. But  _ one _ , I’m not interested in Adrien anymore, and  _ two _ , I’m babysitting Manon with Luka. And nothing is going to get in the way of that.”

“But-”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Marinette storms out of the room, all too happy to reunite with Luka and Manon. Alya, on the other hand, scowls as she heads over to the elevator, impatiently tapping her foot for it to come down and goes upstairs.

“Hey, Plagg, what was that all about?”

Plagg finally decides to snap out of his silent treatment and groans, “Do you really need me to spell it out for you? Give you a play by play?”

“Come on, Plagg!” he begs, “If Marinette is upset with me, then I need to know! Did she decide she couldn’t be friends with me because of her feelings?”

“You may not entirely be off the mark there,” he retorts, “Though not for the reasons you think.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems that Pigtails had the hots for you for a while,” he shrugs, trying to look innocuous, “And before you ask how I know, I’m not blind like you are. I caught on during your little date at the ice rink.”

“Oh,” he frowns. So even  _ Plagg  _ caught on sooner than he did. And Plagg _hated_ romance. “Why didn't you say anything?”

“Tch, like I care about that stuff. Besides, even if I did, I know better than to be a party pooper. It’s her decision whether or not she wants to tell you. Of course, it seemed like she moved on, especially after your advice regarding Lila, and didn’t really think she needed to tell you anyway. But your little prank ruined that.”

“Don’t be like that,” Adrien retorts, “How was I supposed to know?”

“You  _ weren’t _ ,” Plagg argues, “But maybe you ought to tell Pigtails over there, and apologize for accidentally butting into a private conversation? Maybe she’ll tell you her current feelings?”

“But she’s with Luka right now,” Adrien points out, “I can’t interrupt a date like that.”

“Yeah, as if you didn’t do that before,” he says, rolling his eyes, “Well, then at least text her later and ask to talk about it.”

“I can’t,” Adrien points out, “I have to take the train to London tomorrow, remember? Kagami is coming with me.”

“Well then just tell her now!” Plagg shrieks, “I don’t care! But tell her so she can get some closure and move on!”

He bites his lip. Tell her now and have her risk being akumatized from embarrassment? No, that wouldn’t be fair to her. He’d just have to do his best to never let her know about it. She seemed happier anyway, laughing with Luka and Manon as they toured the museum.

“Later maybe. I need to make sure Alya is okay after that conversation.”

He lets himself get distracted by the tense group dynamic. He doesn’t like it, but he’ll take that over talking to Marinette. Marinette didn’t need to deal with any more drama, and he didn’t want to have to deal with having to fight her as an akuma. Sure, his Lady (he winces recalling their conversation the previous evening) would have no problems dealing with her, but thinking about fighting Marinette leaves him with a heavy pit at the bottom of his stomach.

And so, he ignores it.


	3. The Hour Glass is Drifting Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set between "White Hot Morning" and "The Radio Still Plays". Ladybug has an important conversation with Nino.

_ “I got your spell on me and I've been denying. You put a spell on me and I can't stop trying.”  _ ( _ Lost in Space by The Veldt _ )

\---

With no homework, plenty of free time to spare and plans in motion, Nino considers summer the best season by far. He had been especially looking forward to it this year, after countless akuma attacks and all the drama between Alya and Marinette concerning Lila.

He didn’t like sticking his head into business like that. Everything got so messy and complicated and then everyone starts to resent each other. But since his girlfriend  _ is  _ a journalist with a knack of sticking herself into a situation, some of that was bound to get back to him eventually. 

Still, it had gotten pretty bad lately. First, Rena Rouge got kicked off the team. The next day, Alya got into a fight with Marinette over Adrien. And even when she tried again a day later to set the two up, Marinette blew her off. So she switched tactics and tried to set up Lila with Adrien, only to get into a heated argument with Kagami, who had been accompanying him on a train to London. It was then all topped off with Alya returning home only to get in a fight with Nora, get grounded for forgetting to babysit, and forced to put the Ladyblog on hiatus a week later, when she realized the grounding severely impacted her ability to update.

As bad as he feels for leaving her behind, he can’t wait to head to Prado Beach with Adrien for Summer Sesh. While he wouldn’t be able to play on stage like he wanted, he would still be able to enjoy the festival and hang out with his best bud. He meant to do that a while back when they went to the museum, but then Alya found out and insisted upon coming. 

He realizes that he has a bad habit of saying no to her, but he just couldn’t refuse. Adrien was thankfully a good sport about it, but he would have really liked to just have bro time together.

Someone flies up to his window and knocks, breaking him from his thoughts.

“Ladybug?”

He opens the window and allows her to come inside. He hasn’t talked to her since Heroes’ Day, but with everything that happened between her and Alya, it felt a lot longer than that. Personally, he tried hard  _ not  _ to think about the fallout between the two of them, and just hoped that things would eventually go back to normal. 

“We need to talk about something.”

“Uh, am I in trouble?”

“You might be,” she says quietly, “Nino, I’m sure you’re already aware, but I decided to bench Rena Rouge for the summer.”

His face scrunches up. Alya said that she would never get to use the fox miraculous again because Ladybug didn’t like what she was posting, especially since Chat and Lila were getting more attention than her. 

“I wasn’t aware of that,” he admits carefully. Best not get Alya into any more hot water. “Um, would you mind telling me why?”

“I’d rather keep this conversation strictly on you and your status as the turtle. But if it would help you to understand where I’m coming from, I’ll explain a bit more.”

She takes a seat on the ledge of the window while he sits down on his bed. Outside his door, he’s very conscious of his younger brother running around and playing his old games, their parents trying to settle him down before putting on a movie. Apparently, it’s engrossing enough, and Nino feels some relief that they won’t pay any mind to the conversation he’s about to have.

“What Alya posted that night when you were akumatized was completely manipulative and disgusting,” she begins, crossing her arms over her chest, “Not only did she eliminate context, which I could tell from the way it was edited at the end, by the way, but posting that video has potentially given Hawkmoth leverage over the two of us. And furthermore, I now have Chat either ramping up unwanted flirtations or ignoring me during akuma fights, and it’s made my job a lot more difficult. If I didn’t have Viperion around, I’d be completely overwhelmed. I might have even lost by now.”

“I...see,” he says, looking down at the ground. 

“Enough about that, though,” she sighs, “I came here to talk about  _ you _ .”

He gulps.

“Now, you haven’t done anything unmistakably  _ bad  _ per se, but you  _ have  _ been letting things go unchallenged when they shouldn’t be. For example, when Alya wanted to post that video, did you say anything to her?”

Frowning, he looks away from her. Other than apologizing and hearing Alya rave about what she was posting on her blog, he didn’t really recall too much after being set free from the akuma. There was a sinking, uncomfortable feeling as Alya bragged about the story, but he pushed it away, thinking it was just an after effect of the akuma.

Maybe he should have listened to that feeling. 

“No,” he finally admits, “I didn’t. I mean, I thought it was weird, but I felt bad because she felt like she hadn’t added anything exciting to the blog in weeks. I thought it would be bad if I wasn’t being supportive as her boyfriend.”

“And that’s exactly the problem. You’re a great wielder of the turtle, Nino, and you’ve managed to handle the power of defense well. But as a civilian, I need you to step up to the plate more, not just for my sake or for Paris. But your own as well.”

For a moment, he briefly looks at her. Her face isn’t contorted with anger or scorn. Rather, she looks a bit tired and could use a nap. But her concern is only on him for the moment, and he can’t help but feel a bit weird about it. 

He doesn’t want to think that Alya is a  _ bad  _ person or girlfriend. Sure, she had always been a bit stubborn and fought to get her way, but he always liked her assertiveness and drive, even before they started dating. As a creative person, they were necessary traits to get anywhere.

But he can’t help but admit that maybe she was going too far as of late. He wants to argue Alya’s case to Ladybug, but nothing has to be said to know that Ladybug would win and get him to admit how he truly felt.

“I’ll make you the same deal I made with Rena,” she says, “You’ll be benched as the turtle for the rest of summer. Whether or not you stay on the team will be decided when summer ends. Until then, I’ll give you some time to clear your head.”

And with that, she slips out his window and flies across the city. Walking over to close it shut, his hands linger over the still a bit longer than he intends. Part of him wants to be mad, rage about what’s been said, only to realize that maybe he’s just mad at himself.

Ladybug was still giving him a  _ chance _ , he realizes. That means she still saw some good in him and figured he could rise to the challenge. And if Alya had the same deal, then it wasn’t completely over for her either. He needs to remind her of that, and this time, be the one to stand his ground.

It’s likely that Alya won’t pick up. Her phone was confiscated the night she was grounded. Instead, he decides to shoot her an email and hope that she has access to a computer.

_ We need to talk. _


	4. It's Gonna Feel So Rare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during the last chapter of "The Radio Still Plays". Please read that if you haven't already.

“ _ Five years of nothing good, still screaming. Shout, this secret’s out. _ ” (from “Kill Rhythm” by Catherine Wheel)

\---

There have been quite a few akuma attacks where Ivan has found himself keeping a close eye on his girlfriend, especially after her own akumatization and more so after Hawkmoth’s attack on Heroes’ Day. While the akumas were only doing what Hawkmoth requested in exchange for their heart’s desire, plenty of them had powers and motives that allowed them to take things too far, and potentially harm people. 

Despite there being “zombies” outside looking to make them a part of their army, neither one of them feel in any way threatened. If anything, now that they’re safe and not likely to be harmed, Ivan finds the scenario somewhat humorous. Either Hawkmoth was doing a half-hearted job with these akumas or he was running out of ideas, because after fifteen minutes of hiding out, it was getting plenty easy to joke about it.

They’re a bit shocked when Ladybug appears, having so easily found their location. Mylene’s face contorts with worry, and he can’t help but wonder if things have gotten worse if she’s come for them. He only hopes that Marinette and Luka also haven’t been caught.

“Just the two I was looking for,” she says, “I need your help.”

“Our help?” Mylene asks, “With what?”

From her yoyo, Ladybug summons two ornate looking boxes, and holds them up in front of their faces. “Ivan Bruel and Mylene Haprele. These are the miraculouses of the ox and the mouse. They will grant you the powers of Full Throttle and multiplication. You will use them for the greater good.”

Ivan’s curiosity overtakes him, and he opens the box, revealing a small, flying bull with an indigo tint to them. He’s so engrossed by the creature, he barely gets a glimpse of Mylene’s own companion - a gray mouse that also floats about her.

“Hi! I’m Mullo, and I’ll be your kwami. My power is Multitude, which will allow you to shrink and create multiple clones of yourself. But once you use it, you’ll only have five minutes before you transform back.”

Giggling, Mylene uses her finger to scratch their chin, “Oh, wow. That’s amazing.”

Looking back to the ox, Ivan sees he’s ready to introduce himself. “I’m Stompp, and I’ll be working with you today. My power is called Full Throttle. You’ll be able to use it to charge through enemy lines and ignore their attacks on you, but you only get one shot at it. After five minutes, your time is up.”

“Once the job is complete, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you two?” Ladybug asks.

The two of them look at each other. Ivan never imagined himself becoming a hero. He had always been one of the bigger kids, making him the scariest kid by default. Granted, his choice in style didn’t help much either, but he never wanted to hurt anyone. Mylene had always been the opposite - timid and scared and feeling too small to make much of a difference. Perhaps the reason they got along so well was because of their desire to change those feelings about themselves and become better.

Recalling those feelings, they nod in unison and transform.

Mylene dons a gray tracksuit with pink lining and shoulder pads. A jump rope hangs around her waist, acting as a tail of sorts, and her bandana is replaced with a mouse-ear headband. His own suit is mostly indigo, with heavy, black armor at the top and a horned helmet on his head. 

“I forgot to mention one other thing,” she says, “This was a bit of a unique situation, but you’re really not supposed to know each other’s identities. I didn’t have much of a choice because it would have been difficult to give to each other separately. Regardless, please try to focus on the task at hand.”

“Of course, Ladybug,” Mylene says.

“Let’s save Prado Beach,” Ivan declares, following Ladybug up toward the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Alya's POV is going to be *next* chapter now.
> 
> I thought it would be interesting to write Ivan's POV, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to write for him. So, I decided to instead write his and Mylene's debut as heroes from his perspective instead of including it in the main. I felt some of the dialogue could get repetitive, and there was already a lot going on there.
> 
> Also, I realize I didn't describe the outfits at all, and that's a crime.


	5. I Owe You Every Joy of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a must-read prior to "All the Laughs".

_ “They're gonna find you out, expose for what you are. Your rumors don't work here.” - Color’s Running Out by TOY _

_ \-- _

_ (July 2, 2016) _

Steaming, Alya storms out of the bakery and out into the streets. It’s still fairly early in the day, not even ten o’clock, with plenty of time to run and catch the train if she wanted to, but there would be no point now. The entire day has been wasted because Marinette decided to give up. And to top it all off, she also decided that she and Alya “needed to spend time apart from each other.”

As if they hadn’t been apart from each other enough lately. Alya knew it all had to stem from her jealousy of Lila, so when she came back, Marinette started spending less time with her out of spite. Alya thought that things were resolved following the second seating change, and that everyone would finally get along. 

But the next day, just to spite her, all of the other girls in the class decided to take up in the Lila smearing campaign. Granted, the evidence that Rose presented  _ seemed  _ legit, and Alya herself didn’t doubt Ali’s words. However, who was to say that Ali just didn’t forget about it? Not that Alya herself thought that could be possible, but they didn’t have the full picture. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to gang up on Lila for just  _ one  _ thing she might have not told the entire truth about. Certainly, it explained Marinette’s dislike of her further, but she was taking it too far.

Something needs to be done to mend the rift between those two, and something needs to be done about Operation: Adrienette. Pulling up the group chat, Alya sends a quick message asking for the group to reconvene to plan an intervention.

_ Alix: Fat chance. You dragged me out of the house for  _ nothing _ , I’m not about to lose more time over some stupid mission. _

_ Mylene: I’m sorry, but I’m spending the afternoon with my dad. It’s one of the few days off he gets. _

_ Rose: sorry, alya!! D: but neither me nor jules want to break up lukanette, even if we liked adrinette a lot! we’re team mari!! _

Scowling, she shoves the phone back in her pocket and sighs. She can’t afford to get akumatized again, especially over something so petty. She’s pretty confident that if she did, the small chance she had of becoming Rena Rouge again would drop to zero. Hell,  _ Chloe  _ might have had a better chance of getting the fox with the way things were going. 

She’s smart. She’s resourceful. And she knows her way around a case, especially when it came to her bestie. And when a thought comes to mind as to resolve the whole situation, she knows it’s the right course of action. As bad an idea as it sounds on the surface, there’s a chance that things could all work out in the end if Alya plays her cards right. After all, if Marinette and Adrien were dating, she would have no reason to worry over Lila anymore. Lila wasn’t the sort to try and sabotage a relationship, after all. 

But if Marinette wanted to make Adrien jealous of Luka, why couldn’t she take advantage of Marinette’s jealousy of Lila to get Marinette the boy of her dreams?

Of course, that was if Lila was even  _ around _ , but she had to take the chance.

_ Alya: hey, u wanna go 2 the station w me 2 say bye 2 Adrien b4 he leaves 4 london? mayb we can get ice cream afterwards??  _

The response is almost immediate, to her surprise, but she’s pleased nonetheless.

_ Lila: That sounds lovely. <3 I’ll meet you over there in a little bit. _

_ \-- _

They make good time arriving at the station, with ten minutes to spare. She’s glad to see that Lila’s numerous health problems don’t keep her from being able to get out and about, nor do they appear to leave her out of breath. Helping her up the stairs to the platform, they quickly spot Adrien and Kagami waiting for the train to pull up to board.

“Adrien!” Lila calls out, quickly gaining his attention. He gives Alya a pointed smile and wave hello, though it falters a bit when he sees Lila. She fights the urge to bite her lip as she contemplates that maybe Adrien  _ might  _ have a crush on Lila. “I’m glad we made it to see you off before you left!”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” he says, scratching the back of his head, “But you really didn’t have to do that. You could have just sent me a text.”

“But I really had to  _ see  _ you before you left, Adrien,” Lila pouts, “Didn’t you  _ want  _ to see me?”

Adrien is a bit flustered at this, and does his best to respond. At first, Alya can’t help but laugh at the exchange. She knows that Lila is only kidding, and doesn’t  _ really  _ think that; it’s quickly proven when Lila smiles and laughs, and Adrien laughs after a moment or two himself. Although Alya can’t really enjoy the moment as much when she considers the idea that maybe Adrien actually likes Lila.

“If you’re quite done, Adrien and I have a train to board,” Kagami snarls, taking Adrien by the hand, “Come on, Adrien. They’ve already called for first class. Your…  _ friend _ has said her peace.”

There’s something about the way Kagami regards the two of them that makes Alya’s blood boil. As if _ she’s  _ too good for them. As if  _ they’re  _ getting in her way, and it was such an offense, they ought to perish for it. 

“Oh my,” Lila gapes, “I apologize for taking up so much of your time, Adrien. If I had known that you were going to London for the wedding, I would have rescheduled my charity work tomorrow so I could go with you. That would have been a lot of fun.”

“I’m sure it  _ would  _ have been,” Kagami retorts, “If you were actually telling the truth.”

She’s glad her phone is in her pocket right now. Because if she had been holding it, she might have crushed the screen.

“Do you know who you’re talking to?” Alya demands, “This is  _ Lila Rossi _ .  _ Best friend  _ of Ladybug. Do you know how upset she would be if Lila ended up akumatized because you were so rude to her?”

Kagami has the nerve to raise an eyebrow and flatly responds, “Yes, I’m sure Ladybug is great friends with someone that brags about their connections. It totally makes sense for a superhero to want to be related to someone like that.”

“ _ Excuse  _ you? Are you calling me a liar?”

“I never said anything like- Wait. You’re the Ladyblogger,” she scoffs,  _ scoffs,  _ as she comes to the realization. “That would explain a lot.”

“And what’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

“That it makes a lot of sense as to why  _ she  _ would have such a reputation at school,” Kagami says, regarding Lila with wary eyes, “She used  _ you  _ to spin her tales, which you then used to get more traffic on your blog. A shame, considering you actually had some stories worth your time and  _ ours,  _ but decided to focus on someone desperate for the spotlight.”

Barging right up to Kagami, Alya stands in front of her and meets her glare straight on. Were it not for Lila’s sniffle, Alya wouldn’t even have recognized that Lila was crying. 

“I’m really sorry,” Lila sighs, “I just wanted to say goodbye to my good friend, and all of my feelings just overcame me. I realize that this is supposed to be an important trip for you

Alya’s gaze wavers as she regards Lila. Meanwhile, Adrien stands in the middle of all three of them, now looking uncertain. Why isn’t he attempting to comfort Lila or talk Kagami down? Crossing her arms, Alya demands, “Adrien,  _ do  _ something!”

“I, uh,” he averts his gaze to look at his feet, “Kagami and I should  _ really  _ be going before-”

“ _ Adrien _ .”

At the sound of his name being called, Adrien freezes up. Following his gaze, Alya quickly figures out why - Gabriel Agreste himself impatiently waits at the entrance of one of the train doors, glowering in Adrien’s direction and forcing him to board.

“I-I’ll see you guys when I come back,” he says with a nervous laugh, “Have a good weekend!”

Lila waves goodbye, too preoccupied to notice the pointed look Kagami gives the two of them. Alya returns it with a scowl, her entire body shaking and ready to lash out for such an expression.

_ No. You can’t let an akuma get to you. Ladybug would never give you the fox back if you get akumatized  _ again _ . Just… relax. _

Sighing, she closes her eyes and lets it go. Adrien would figure Kagami out. They’d spend the weekend together, only for him to realize just how wrong she was for him. That would leave the matter of her two besties fighting for Adrien’s heart, but what mattered most right now was taking Kagami out of the game. And Lila was reasonable - if she wanted to become friends with Marinette, Alya knew for a fact that she’d be willing to move out of the way to let Marinette get with Adrien.

“I hope they have fun,” Lila says, “It sure would have been fun to go with them, but I’m sure I’ll be able to go during the summer.” She falls quiet, patting Alya’s shoulder, “You want to go get some ice cream?”

She forces a smile, hoping that Lila can’t see through it. “I’d love that.”

\--

All it takes for Alya to calm down is a nice walk across town and some ice cream. Lila has a couple of stories to offer up to keep Alya’s mind off of things. And yet, just as easy as it is for her to forget her worries, it’s just as easy for her to remember them. At some point, they end up walking past the Couffaine’s houseboat, and Alya wonders if Marinette was inside, hanging out with Luka.

“Is something wrong, Alya?” Lila asks, “You seem rather distracted today.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” she laughs, taking another lick of her ice cream. “It’s kind of personal, and I don’t want to bother you with it.”

“You’re not bothering me,” Lila insists, “You’ve done so much for me today. The least I can do is listen to some of  _ your  _ concerns.”

Biting her lip, Alya averts her gaze and the two come to a stop at a bench, taking a seat. Looking up at the sky, she gives herself a moment to think about what to say. “It’s Marinette.”

“Oh.”

“It’s just,” she sighs, “I don’t know what’s been going on through that girl’s head. Ever since she started hanging out with Luka and everyone else in Kitty Section, it’s like she’s been avoiding me. She even told me today that she wanted to take a break from us hanging out during the summer.”

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Lila clicks her tongue and an awkward silence falls over the two of them. Briefly, she meets Alya’s gaze before looking away, as if trying to hide something from her. 

“What is it?”

Lila bites her lip, and then looks down at her feet nervously. “I… It’s not something that I should say… I don’t want you to get upset.”

“If it’s about Marinette, I want to hear it.”

“Well, it’s not  _ Marinette _ per se, and I might just be silly,” Lila begins slowly, “But the last two times I had a friend ask for some space, they ended up cutting ties with me. They say it’s only temporary, but it’s just their way of being nice to you while distancing themselves. It really hurt me that they would say something like that in the first place.”

Fighting the urge to shake her head, Alya weighs Lila’s words in her mind. She’s known Marinette a lot longer than Lila, and that Marinette hates liars. She wouldn’t lie or simply hide the truth from Alya concerning something so serious. But Marinette  _ had  _ been prone to saying the wrong thing under pressure or doing something unintentionally when confronted. She didn’t  _ want  _ to believe it, but there’s a chance that Lila had a point.

That’s not what hurts her the most though. Thinking back to her conversation with Ladybug, and how she was told she’d be benched as Rena Rouge for the summer, Alya has to bite her lip as she comes to a major realization.

_ Ladybug just said that to give me hope and not get me akumatized. There’s no way she’s actually planning on giving me the fox back. _

“Um, Alya, are you okay?” Lila asks, patting her shoulder, “I know what I said was a lot, but I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“ _ No _ ,” she sighs, “I’m… I’ll be okay. Things are going to work out, with or without Marinette in the picture. And anyway,” she says, patting Lila’s arm in response, “Let’s not worry about her. We have the whole rest of the day to spend! Might as well do something fun!”

Lila doesn’t seem entirely convinced, judging by her wary smile, but she at least is cooperative enough to stand up alongside Alya and continue on their stroll through the city.

\--

Despite some of her worries, Alya still manages to have a fun afternoon hanging out with Lila. If she’s around for even enough of the summer, it would be enough to stave off boredom when Nino wasn’t around. 

She walks into her apartment, smiling without a care in the world, bumping right into her sister.

“ _ There _ you are!” Nora yells as she enters the house, “ _ Where  _ have you been?”

Alya frowns. “Um,  _ hi _ . I’ve been out all day.”

“You went out  _ all  _ day when you were supposed to be babysitting?”

“Well, if you needed me, why didn’t you just call?”

“Not only were you scheduled to watch the twins today, but when you didn’t show up on time, I  _ did  _ call you!”

Frowning, Alya goes to check her phone, not finding any notifications on the lock screen. However, when she opens it, a glowing red five appears over her messages, and she finds that she’s missed three phone calls and has two unheard messages.

“I, uh-”

“You  _ ignored  _ them, didn’t you?” 

She’s not sure how that could have happened. Her phone was in her pocket the entire time, and it hadn’t been on vibrate. So how could she have missed all of those notifications.

“No, it’s not that,” she insists, “I only  _ just  _ got them.”

Nora raises an eyebrow, “Really? Then why didn’t I hear your ringtone go off when you enter the house? And doesn’t your phone have the highest speed and best connection in the house? Not to mention, you only  _ just  _ got it a few months ago.”

“I-”

“ _ Forget _ it. Whatever the reason, I ended up missing an important match because of you,” Nora asserts, crossing her arms over her chest, “You know I’ve been training for this  _ for months _ ! Woke up early and everything! This was my chance to break into a bigger division! But since  _ you  _ never showed up, I got stuck watching the twins and had to cancel!”

A twinge of guilt overcomes her. “I-I’m sure you’ll get another chance. It’s not  _ that  _ big a deal-”

“No,  _ it is  _ that big a deal!” Nora argues, “Alya, this isn’t some hobby or something I just  _ like  _ to do with my time! This is my livelihood, how I make my money! I would think that as someone who puts in a lot of work into  _ their  _ passion, you would understand how much that means to me, but now I see that you don’t really care about anyone else.”

“Hey, that’s not a fair accusation! I spent the whole day trying to help my friends with boy problems!”

“Oh, so you could focus on  _ that  _ and not helping me with  _ our  _ sisters?”

She wants to argue how important it was to her, but between Nora glaring hard, Ella and Etta cowering in the corner and holding each other, and her mom walking in the door with a not-so-impressed expression on her face, Alya knows that she stands no chance.

“Nora,” her mom says, “I’ll handle everything from here. Why don’t you go speak with your coach and figure everything out?”

Nora sighs but storms out of the room and into a quieter area of the apartment. The twins seem to take this as a sign that they should leave the room too, slamming their bedroom door behind them.

“ _ Alya Cesaire _ . You are grounded for the entire summer.”

“Wait,  _ what _ ?”

Her mother’s expression doesn’t falter, but Alya can only gape. How could things get blown out of proportion like this? She only forgot this  _ one  _ time, why was her mother taking away her entire summer vacation?

“Mom!”

“I’m serious, Alya. This isn’t just about you forgetting to babysit your sisters,” she says, placing all of her stuff down on the kitchen counter. “I saw your recent test scores, and there’s been a major drop in your grades.”

“I can-”

“Explain that? You don’t have to. I know exactly what’s been going on,” she sighs, “When you haven’t been running off on dates with Nino or trying to set up your friends, you’ve been running off into danger, trying to capture footage for your blog. At first, I thought that maybe it was just difficulty adjusting to life in Paris, but speaking to your teachers at school and your friends’ parents, I realized that couldn’t be the case. No, the problem is that you’ve picked up so many things to do that it’s compromised your ability to prioritize.”

She sighs, looking down at the counter. Alya wants to argue, to beg for another chance and to not let her entire summer be ruined for the sake of punishment. But the words just don’t come to her, and she can only regard her mother with a long stare.

“I’m sorry, Alya. I can forgive a little forgetfulness, but this mistake hurt your sisters too much this time. With all the time you have this summer, it’s time for you to sit down and think about what’s really important.”

\--

_ (July 9) _

School has been out for a few days, and Alya already finds herself seriously bored. At least at school, Alya could vent to Lila and some of the girls in the other class about her horrible weekend. But now that she was at home, and with limited access to the internet and her friends, she’s all alone and completely bored.

Most of her time being grounded had been spent redecorating her room. After dusting her shelves, sorting her books, and cleaning out her wardrobe, Alya finds herself staring at her collage on the wall and contemplating its arrangement. 

Lila's photos had been the most recent additions to the collection, and Alya didn't find herself tempted to take them down so soon. And yet, she hesitated every time she thought of ripping up Marinette's photos, despite them not feeling right next to Lila's. 

It's not like her to hesitate. From crying in her crib to waddling on her feet, Alya always pursued what she wanted without fear or doubt. And both of her parents encouraged her along the way, reminding her to stand up for what she believed in. Nora was there to protect her, and the twins would cheer on from the sidelines.

So why did she feel like this now?

Tearing herself away from the wall, she slowly pulls open the drawer in her desk that hides her phone. Her mom was under the impression that it had been in a box in the living room, but Alya learned a thing or two about stealing phones from Marinette. Certainly, that had been  _ one  _ benefit from being around her.

Still no new messages from anyone, but just in case, she opens her conversation with Lila and rereads everything. The last message had been sent rather recently, and made Alya sigh.

_ Lila: I hope I don’t sound like I’m starting drama, but I ran into Marinette and her bf the other day. I feel  _ so  _ bad for him. I was just trying to be polite, but Marinette thought I was trying to flirt with him! He seemed so embarrassed by her, especially when I explained that I was greeting him the same way you greet friends in Italy!  _

She can only shake her head in response. So it didn’t even matter  _ who  _ Marinette was dating - there would  _ still  _ be animosity towards Lila. She’s not even sure if she can take joy in thinking of how jealous Marinette would be once she found out about Lila and Adrien. After all, even if Marinette wisened up in regards to Adrien, there was no guarantee she’d do the same for Lila.

The apartment shakes for a bit, and she catches a glimpse of an akuma flying past her window. Unfortunately, it’s too fast for her to see, and too far away to start recording now. But she can’t afford to just give up on the akuma either. She missed capturing footage of Reflekdoll and Gigantitan, and the audience reactions to the Desperada footage, which she painstakingly took the time to sneak out to get, had been lukewarm. It didn’t help that there had been some backlash to the Chat Noir confession video, pointing out that it had been edited, and more complaints surfaced when she deleted those comments off the blog.

No, she’s going to capture footage of that akuma, and no grounding was going to stand in her way. She needs new content for the Ladyblog anyway, since she hasn’t posted anything since her recent grounding. Tip-toeing out of the room, she looks down the hall from left to right, before inching her way closer to the door of the apartment and-

“Don’t even think about it.”

Sure enough, Nora is relaxing on the couch, her arms lying on the headrest on either side, and her back turned to Alya.

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw both your coverage of Desperada and the news report of the recent akuma attack. You’re  _ not  _ going out in that.”

“But if I don’t get any footage for my blog, I’ll be set back for weeks!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I,  _ your sister _ , inconveniencing you from something you enjoy?”

She can only curl her fingers inwards in response.

“Drop the phone on the table, head back to your room now, and I won’t tell mom or dad.”

Scowling, she leaves her phone on the table in front of Nora before stomping all the way back to her room, slamming the door shut and throws herself onto her bed. She tries to muster up anger at Nora, and fails miserably. As miserable as it is to admit, Alya only has herself to blame in this case. If she had been more careful with her timing, maybe she’d be out there getting the footage she needs for her blog.

But as things were, it was possible to keep the Ladyblog going for the summer. As much as it pains her, she begins planning out an official statement for that evening. When her parents get home and can supervise her time on the computer, she wastes no time in making the post.

_ Hey everyone. Unfortunately, due to real life circumstances, I’m going to have to put the Ladyblog on hiatus for the summer. I cannot divulge the details for the time being. I will update as soon as possible.  _

_ -Alya- _

_ —- _

_ (July 16) _

Another week passes, and with her good behavior, Alya’s mom allows her back some privileges. Her phone is still confiscated, she’s had to constantly watch the twins at the apartment, and she hasn’t been allowed to see her friends, but she’s allowed back on the computer for a limited amount of time each day. With the time she’s allotted, she checks social media for any updates concerning her friends, and finds herself growing more and more envious as the days go by.

Lila’s profile is scarcely updated, although she recently posted a photo of herself bullet journaling and meditating on how to prepare herself for the next school year. Alya couldn’t help but be impressed by her dedication despite the setbacks she’s had to face.

Adrien has a post from a recent photoshoot. He looks like quite the gentleman with his hat and suit. She can’t help but notice the faraway look in his eye, as if searching for something he’s missing. She also can’t help but relate to that feeling.

Despite her conflicted feelings, Alya checks Marinette’s instagram and see that she’s been working on a “secret project” of sorts. It’s pretty obviously related to Kitty Section, with their logo the only thing shown in full in any of the photos. There’s also a really nice photo of her admiring the scenery while on what appeared to be a date, since Luka received photo credits. Alya can’t help but envy how Marinette was able to actually enjoy a nice date during the summer with her boyfriend (or whatever Luka actually was to her - she still has her doubts).

Contrary to popular belief, Nino  _ did  _ have an Instagram - he just didn’t tell many people about it. As his girlfriend, Alya was one of the few to know, and one of the fewer allowed to tag him in photos. Not that she did it that often, and it didn’t draw that much attention since he kept it on private.

He doesn’t use it to post anything, but he did often send her DMs from time to time. It’s been the only way she’s been able to talk to him during her current state of grounding. In fact, the icon in the corner of her screen is currently flashing, indicating that he sent her a recent message.

_ N: did you tell me the whole truth about being off the team for good? _

_ A: y do u say that? _

_ N: bc our team leader came by and said that she only benched you for the summer. she also said i was benched too. _

_ A: sure she said that but did she really mean it? _

_ N: ??? why wouldn’t she mean it?? _

_ A: well… i had a convo w a friend, and she said that when ppl say that, they actually mean they’ve given up on u. _

_ N: so… you took that person’s word but not our captain’s?  _

_ A: u don’t understand. _

_ N: no, i don’t. alya, just cuz we’re in trouble doesn’t mean it’s over. she’s giving us a second chance. idk who this other person is but it sounds like they’re trying to mess w u. even if they aren’t, that doesn’t make them right. _

_ A: how can u say that??? this is ur friend 2! _

_ N: that’s a scary thought then. who is it? _

_ A: LILA! _

_ N: ….lila told you not to believe in lb?  _

_ A: not exactly. she told me that regarding mari, but i figured the same idea would apply to our captain. _

_ N: that’s messed up alya. _

_ A: hOW? _

_ N: bc u KNOW lb. is that really something she would do? she gave you an interview for the blog! which mari arranged btw _

_ A: ppl change, nino. _

_ N: yeah, they do. you’re looking like a pretty good example of that right now and not for the best. _

Her fingers hover over the keyboard for a few seconds, but she’s not sure what to say to any of this. Before she can think of anything, he sends his next message.

_ N: listen. we really need to sit down and talk about this. bc it’s crazy. and i don’t like seeing what it’s doing to you. i love u but i can’t stand w you on this. it’s messed up. _

_ A: nino, come on! are you going to leave me too? _

_ N: i think you need some space to think about what’s been said. and honestly, i do too. i’ll talk to you later but i need to blow off some steam now before i say something i really regret. nite, alya. _

Scowling, she exits the browser window and retreats to her room. She desperately tries to maintain her composure but once the tears begin, she’s powerless to stop them. Punching her pillow, she laments the fact that everyone’s been turning away from her, and realizing that it had in large part been because of  _ her _ . When she’s too tired, she collapses on her bed with a heavy sigh and hopes to fall asleep.

“ _ Friend Zone, I’m- _ ”

“Going to leave me now. I’m not helping you again, Hawkmoth.”

“ _ Why not? Don’t you wish you could have all your friends back? Getting along? Being happy?” _

“I don’t need you to do that. I’ll do it the hard way,  _ my  _ way. A good reporter doesn’t need to take on bribes.”

“ _ Of course, but what if you could be a better reporter- _ ”

“ _ Out  _ of my head, you creep!”

Lifting her head, she sees the butterfly float out of her room and out into the city. It took her a moment to realize just how utterly alone she was now.

—-

_ August 1 _

A month of being grounded and Alya’s found herself in a miserable state, especially as the TV flashes a news report covering the recent akuma attacks. The headline flashes  _ Two Attacks at Prado Beach - A Summer Sesh Washout? _ Looking online, plenty of people were commenting on the incidents behind the akumatizations, and more importantly, the new heroes that showed up on the scene, adding four new people to the roster.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d actually get to meet them behind the mask.

After her initial conversation with Nino, they spoke a few more times, and a couple of things began to click for her. She didn’t want to admit to it, because that would mean being wrong. And Alya couldn’t afford to be wrong as a journalist, or rather,  _ the  _ Ladybug journalist. People counted on her blog for information on the akuma attacks and understanding how the heroes operated. They needed to know who had their backs at all times.

She’s faced backlash before. When she initially supposed that  _ Chloe  _ had been Ladybug, plenty of comments pointed out that her theory made no sense. There had also been comments asking how she was able to record so much material and still keep herself safe that she had to ignore. And even with as many people happy about the LadyNoir ship “sailing,” plenty of people had their doubts and questioned her editing.

She couldn’t even begin to predict what would happen if she went through with this.

There’s some tapping at the window to distract her from answering that thought.

“Ladybug?”

“I’d like to talk with you. May I come in?”


	6. When the Dream's So Real

"_When the dream's so new, I can just toss it over to you._" (_Feel So Real by Swervedriver_)

\---

Being "the boss" of anyone other than himself had never been a part of Jagged's vision. He shredded on his guitar, rocked the world of his fans and raised hell when people like Bob Roth got in his way with "company politics" or whatever.

It took some time and planning, but with enough effort and planning, he and Penny were able to break contract with Bob and start their own record label. He knew that he wanted someone special to sign on, and when he saw Kitty Section's performance on Bob's program, he knew he had to reach out to them somehow. His only concern was if Bob managed to sign them to his label first.

It was sheer dumb luck that he discovered that they had ties to Marinette, his favorite designer-to-be. And even dumber luck when he learned that they hadn't signed on with Bob. And the rest was history.

Fast forward a couple months later, and Jagged finds himself strutting up the stairs and into the break room in his studio, Penny and their intern, Ruby, right behind him. The entirety of Kitty Section, plus Marinette and Rose's father, patiently await their arrival before Rose launches her pitch.

When he hears Rose propose  _ Hawkmoth Can Suck It: The Album _ , he comes close to the verge of tears. His students were already mastering the ways of rock, and learning to stick it to the man. He recalls Hawkmoth akumatizing him twice as Guitar Villain, and feeling so used. After all of the attacks on the city, he secretly worried at times about letting his anger or frustration overtaking him and becoming Hawkmoth's puppet again. 

People loved Ladybug, as they should. But it was time someone made a statement about Hawkmoth, and he was 100% behind this vision.

When the meeting concludes, he allows the band to chat among themselves while Penny pulls aside Rose's father to deal with paperwork and scheduling for the school year. Luka would be entering lycee at the Gauguin Institute, while the other three were in their last year at Francois Dupont, which meant that the times that they were supposed to get out might not have been in alignment. There would be no way of knowing until Luka received his schedule, but needed to prepare just in case.

Just as she's about to head into the hallway, Jagged calls out for Ruby. "You have a moment? I'd like to talk with you."

"O-Oh, of course!"

Since her first day, Ruby had come a long way. She managed to start up social media accounts for Kitty Section, allowing them to upload videos, and was currently working on a fun video to be filmed later that month. It helped that Penny really took her under her wing, building her confidence.

There were still times though that Ruby seemed somewhat intimidated by him. That was the price of being “the boss man”. And it likely didn't help that he could be so demanding to the point that people were scared. For Penny’s sake, he attempted to start curbing that, but old habits died hard.

"I wanted to check and see what your schedule is looking like for when you return to university. I know it's not for a while, but it'd be easier if we can start working out how to accommodate you here."

For a moment, all she can do is look at him blankly, as though he said something miraculous. "W-Wait... are you saying you're keeping me on past the summer?"

"Yeah. Didn't I tell you?"

She shakes her head and he frowns, before letting out a laugh.

"Of course I want you to stay on! Do you see how much we've gotten done since you joined?" She appears to loosen up a bit and smiles back. "Come on, now. We ought to figure your schedule out now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a nice, sweet Jagged piece before things get real.


	7. You Smile Like an Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after "All the Laughs" Ch. 2.

“ _ Anyway, you cry like a baby, blessed with shame in this deep mine.” (Frozen - Curve) _

_ \--- _

While afraid to step out of her box, Juleka had always wanted to reach out and help other people, just as the people in her life helped her. It always seemed that Luka, her mom, Rose, or more recently, Marinette, were always stepping in when things went south and helped her resolve her problems

Her decision to help Ladybug and become Tigresse  Rayé was in part fueled by that desire, and her costume was quick to reflect that. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail by a tiger print scrunchie, with her purple streaks fading into magenta. She also gained a pair of fake ears, somehow held in place despite not being a headband. She wore a matching moto jacket with shoulder pads and three black stripes at the sides, left unzipped to reveal a basic, black shirt. Black leggings were paired with magenta boots and a plain belt to cinch everything together. 

In a lot of ways, the costume was simple in its construction, but wild for her, since magenta was not a color she generally wore, especially when compared to Princess Piggy’s costume. The majority of what Rose wore was pink and cute, and it was no different when transformed. Both pig ears and a silver tiara sat upon her head, with her mask being two shades of pink. The baby pink appears in her mini tulle skirt and ballet slippers, while the glittery top takes on a darker shade, with a third and contrasting shade taking over the gloves and leggings.

The night after their show, the two girls spent hours giggling and talking about their time helping Ladybug at the concert. Juleka wasn’t sure how either of them were able to fall asleep after the rush of superheroics paired with their first serious gig. She didn’t want the night to end, no matter what excitement the next day brought! And she knew that if there was another time Ladybug would call upon her, Tigresse would be ready for anything.

And then, Tigresse wasn’t ready.

Chloe getting akumatized after being called out was expected. Chat and Ladybug getting into an argument in front of them all had been miserable to watch, but not  _ entirely  _ surprising, considering his fewer appearances and lack of cooperation against Stage Fright. 

But Chat actually  _ losing  _ his miraculous, thanks to Miracle Queen? Hawkmoth  _ gaining  _ it? And because she wasn’t fast enough to stop Worker Bee or strong enough to stand up to Paris’ most notorious supervillain? Thinking about it, it causes her to sob harder, even as Rose pats the top of her head.

Despite the shock, whoever Chat was, he had the good sense to hide before anyone else saw him. Juleka had reason to believe that Ladybug, Viperion, Chloe, Hawkmoth, and the blue woman were the only ones to know who the true identity of Chat was, based on very little other than Ladybug’s reactions to the unveiling. The look of shock on her face was so brief, yet Juleka found it etched into the back of her mind, and she was certain she’d have nightmares seeing her heart break like that, over and over. Just  _ who  _ could have caused Ladybug to have such a horrified expression?

All the reason more why Ladybug shouldn’t trust her with the miraculous again.

Finally, the two girls decide to leave the room to get something to drink, when they run into Luka comforting a crying Marinette.

“She got into a fight with a friend,” Luka whispers, before either of them can ask. Juleka nods, grabbing a glass and pouring herself some water, before settling down on the couch. “Are you alright?”

“Um,” she sighs, averting her gaze. How is she supposed to explain to her brother that  _ she’s  _ the reason that Hawkmoth now has Chat Noir’s miraculous? “I just had some bad thoughts. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

He nods, patting her shoulder. That’s the nice thing about her brother; he never expected her to give him an explanation if she didn’t want to. And without another word, she and Rose easily slip into a cuddle pile with the two of them until she drifts off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully for Marinette, Juleka, and all of you readers, the next chapter of "All the Laughs" won't be *as* emotionally taxing. Still, things are probably not going to be okay with everyone for a while,


	8. Don't Step Over My Head

" _ You can filter your poison into my sleep, but I know it's my heart you'll never reach _ ." - Wish You Dead by Curve

\---

Gabriel Agreste was not a patient man. That virtue was best learned by his wife, his better half in many ways. She was the wealthier one, the kinder one, and the one most capable of going with the flow and letting things play out.

But when she fell ill, it was a virtue he had to learn quickly, especially if he was going to revive her. Plan after plan foiled, akuma after akuma stopped, and no real chance of winning faced him time after time, but he just had to hold out until something gave.

Victory came in the form of a Ladyblog video. While it was clearly edited and manipulated, it proved his suspicions that Chat Noir had clear, romantic feelings for his partner. And observation of him during fights proved just how distracted her could get. Pairing that with the boiling tension between him and Ladybug, especially after she brought in new team members, and it was only a matter of time before Chat left himself open to losing his ring. It was like taking candy from a baby...

... _ his _ baby.

He's not always prone to what his selected akumas think, hear or see, but upon seeing Miracle Queen’s illusion succeed, he gets a clear idea of who Chat Noir was.

_ Sorry, Adrikins. But it's the only one to get my miraculous back. _

It took everything in him to not abort his mission then and there. He thought he disproved the theory months ago, but his son went and made a fool of him. Perhaps he would be a bit more proud of his son’s cleverness if it hadn’t gotten in the way of reuniting their family or if it means keeping up a masquerade in order to leave the house and put himself in danger against his father’s knowledge.

What truly put an end to his plans for the day was seeing Mayura frozen and starting to cough. Even with how inexperienced some of the newer Miraculous users had been, Hawkmoth knew better than to test his luck, and made his escape with her, having her recall the amok only after they both safely returned home, the miraculous in his office. He allowed her the next day off to recover, and closely monitored her well-being. She had a particularly bad reaction the first time using the miraculous, but this time she didn’t appear quite as worn for wear. Still, he couldn’t afford to be too careful, especially just as things were going his way.

He waits for Nathalie in his office, while studying the cat miraculous. From what he’s heard, she appears to be doing much better today, and has no problems walking around the mansion. In fact, as she walks up to his desk, he sees no traces of paleness in her face, and sighs in relief.

“You will no longer be using Dusuu’s powers for our mission,” he states, “It’s too risky. From now on, I will have you use the cat instead.”

She raises an eyebrow, “Sir, are you sure-”

“ _ Yes _ . Your plan was brilliant, but I can’t afford to lose you as well. The peacock will be retired, at least for the time being. I may have further use of it, but not at your expense. You were the one that got us the cat, it’s only fair that you should get to use it, until we have Ladybug’s as well.”

"We may be able to get some information out of this one too," Nathalie points out, "Like where the other miraculouses are and who Ladybug is. That would end everything in an instant."

Ah, how brilliant his secretary was. If he hadn't been worrying over her, perhaps he would have such an idea. Releasing the kwami from the miraculous, he stares sternly at the black cat, who studies the room with a yawn.

"Wow, I thought a supervillain's lair would be less boring than this," he says, "There's nothing shiny here!"

"Silence!"

The cat flies back a few feet, staring back at the two of them.  _ Perfect _ . _ He's already intimidated by his new master. My son probably wasn't firm with him so he thought that he could do whatever he wanted. He'll have to unlearn that as quickly as possible. _

"It's nice to finally meet you, cat kwami. I will be your new master from now on, and you'll be serving my secretary, Nathalie. But I'm sure you're already familiar with us, since you've been serving my son..."

The kwami winces at that.

"...and I'm sure you're also familiar with Ladybug's civilian identity, as well as the location of the Guardian."

"What? That's crazy. Of course I'm not."

"I find that hard to believe."

The cat scoffs,  _ scoffs _ at him! "Well, even if I tell you the last known location of the Guardian, it's not like he'll be there now. He'd have the good sense to skip town. And I have no clue as to where he'd go. He thinks of all sorts of safety precautions!"

"I see," he hums. Then he'd simply have to get information on the other miraculouses from another source. "But surely, you know Ladybug's identity."

The cat crosses his arms. "Even if I did know that, which I don't, the Guardian put a spell on us that prevents us from revealing holders' identities, unless they're already dead.”

"There's no way that's true," Nathalie argues.

Looking over to his own kwami, quietly sulking in the background, he demands, "Nooroo?"

"It's true, master. If either Ladybug or Chat Noir demanded your identity, I wouldn't be able to give it to them. I'd spit up bubbles before I'd be able to say your name."

Turning away, he sighs. Another damper in his plans, which means he'll have to play the long con. No matter. He still has the power of Cataclysm at his side, and a new plan in mind to use it well.

"Nathalie, if you're up to the task, I need you to transform immediately. I won't have you fighting anyone, but I need to draw out an akuma for me."

For the past two days, Adrien stewed in his room, no doubt sulking over the loss of his kwami. To make things worse, Gabriel decided to ground him after he came home late, accusing him of sneaking out for a while. It didn’t help that Gabriel caught him missing during their trip to Summer Sesh and caught him landing on the balcony of their room. He was tempted at the time to interrogate him about it, but between handling Clara and trying to hold his cover, he decided to let it go. He'd let Adrien think he had his freedom until he could well and truly catch him in the act.

Now, if Adrien wanted his freedom again, he'd have to pay for his disobedience. 

The both of them transform, with Nathalie taking up the name Feline Fatale. Her costume is far less elegant than as Mayura - a black halter-top catsuit, paired with a matching jacket with a green inside and a matching belt. The boots had a chunkier heel, with kitty prints on the bottom. Nathalie’s hair let loose, but she kept her glasses - they just merged with her mask. 

Within half an hour, Feline Fatale caused more than enough damage to the city to get news coverage, including the attention of his son. The butterfly has no problems landing and possessing him.

_ "Space Patrol. I am Hawkmoth. Aren't you tired of everyone controlling you and telling you what to do? Having no real power to stop anyone from doing evil? Join me and I will grant you the power to control other people's freedom. In exchange, all you have to do is bring me Ladybug's miraculous." _

_ "N-No... I can't..." _

_ "And why not? Think of everything that was taken from you. The woman you love is dating a treacherous snake. No one on that team wants you there. And your power is no longer yours. But if you work with me, I can make it up to you." _

A long pause falls over the two of them. He can feel the inner turmoil of his son's thoughts. His son wasn't foolish, he knew that Hawkmoth was manipulating him, just as the fake Ladybug did. But his son's biggest weakness was that he just wanted to believe for a second that things would go his way.

And so, without fail, Adrien agrees.


	9. My World is Wishing Me Asleep

“ _ Where are you? Come back again, I want you to. _ ” (Lose My Breath by My Bloody Valentine)

\--

It's stupid, it's risky, and it's exactly what he needs. Without hesitation, Chat Noir leaps into the night air and finds a nice spot on the beach to think.

_ More _ heroes. And furthermore, heroes decided without him. Hell, he didn't even know that she was even there. Not that he wanted to talk to any of them, but they were supposed to be a team. They were supposed to be able to handle everything together.

How had things gotten so bad that they weren't enough anymore? They used to always find a way to make ends meet, so what changed?

He takes a rock and throws it into the ocean, not surprised when it doesn't skip. At least he can take solace in the fact that no one is around to watch him like this. After his argument with Marinette, his father caught him sulking and chided him for his poor attitude. After all, they were on vacation; how could he act so  _ glum _ ?

Even Nino wasn't enough to bust him out of his bad mood. He thought having his best pal around would make him forget his worries, but trouble found him everywhere he went.

He stays at the beach for a little longer, certain he can just sleep in later if he has to. So he sneaks back onto the balcony and slips away back to bed, without anyone knowing.

\--

Despite what he says, Chat doesn't go to confront Miracle Queen on his own. Instead, he finds another place to hide and blow off steam.

Everyday, it feels like Ladybug slips away more and more. He wonders how she can be so okay with that? Was it that boyfriend of hers, dictating her time and attention? 

Minutes pass, as he loses himself in thought, only to be interrupted by Ladybug landing in front of him.

"What do you want?" he hisses.

"I... I'm sorry. You were right about them," she sniffles, "I just... it's so hard to be honest with you when Hawkmoth could ruin what we have."

"Honest about  _ what _ ?"

"What we have. My feelings for you."

For a moment, his irritation dissipates, and hope flickers back in his eyes. Despite hating liars, she herself lied the entire time about how she felt? He could potentially forgive that, but he needs more than that to proceed. "What about your boyfriend?"

"I made him up. I needed an excuse to keep you at bay. I'm sorry, Chat."

She looks at him with such adoring eyes, and he can't help but sigh at just how beautiful they really are. It was nice to finally see them this way. He almost can't believe it, and demands, "If you're really sorry, then prove it."

She takes two steps towards him, her hand, delicate like a flower, cupping his cheek and pulling him into a kiss. He can’t help but melt at her touch, losing himself to the kiss. It leaves him breathless at just how desperately and sweetly her lips meet his, and how it had been everything he ever dreamed of…

...until he feels his ring being slipped off his finger.

He’s too shocked to respond, even as Ladybug hands off the ring to a giant bee. Before he can duck out of plain view to hide his identity, he catches another Ladybug, the  _ real  _ Ladybug, staring down at the scene in horror. She tosses her yoyo to stop it from unfolding, but the arrival of a mysterious woman puts an end to that.

_ When the fights over, surely Ladybug will come back and bring me the ring back. Or Miraculous healing,  _ he thinks to himself wistfully from the safety of his hiding spot.

It takes him a while to realize that he had only been setting himself up for disappointment.

\--

For the past thirty minutes following his de-akumatization, Adrien has been staring up at his bedroom ceiling, as if he would find the answers to his questions floating up there.

_ What happened to me? _

First, he remembers seeing news footage of the new cat wielder, ruining the city with Cataclysm. As if everything didn’t already suck with his dad yelling at him for being irresponsible and promising to keep him incredibly busy for the rest of the year, he now had to watch Plagg enable someone else to make the cat look bad.

That was  _ his  _ miraculous. That was  _ his  _ city he should have been exploring! Wasn’t it enough that he lost his lady to another guy, or that his friends were drifting apart and he was left behind? Why did everything have to be taken away from him?

It’s no wonder that Hawkmoth is able to akumatize him. Because that was just another thing to be taken from him - _any_ sense of agency he had left.

What happened after he was freed is a bit hazy. He definitely remembers seeing Alya and Nino, but their conversation had been so brief, he doesn’t recall what had been said or done. They were gone shortly after that, so shortly that he wondered if he hadn’t just imagined it.

Something so good could only be a fiction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Now with commentary - https://xxxsaltybugxxx.tumblr.com/post/189808780609/atlwhitp-ch-4-pspotw-ch-9-commentary
> 
> So that brings this arc to an official close. I'm not sure when the next one will begin, since I'm still working on the outline, but I'm unofficially dubbing it the "Back to School" arc. I have a title in mind for it, but I'm debating on whether or not to keep it, so I won't reveal it for now. Anyway, the reason I'm not starting it right away is to take a break and work on some prompts for ML Angst Month. I'll only be doing 7 of those, and then maybe some interludes before the next arc starts.
> 
> But hey, at least I got this one done before the next decade started. ;)


	10. Revolutionary Sister Got It Going On

“ _ The nature of revolution is to extract what is unnecessary, to reveal what was already there. _ ” -  _ Revolutionary Sister by The Veldt _

_ \--- _

Notes are scattered across the floor of her bedroom as Alya furiously scribbles down every and any idea she has. With her limited time allowed on the computer, she has to put every second she has to good use, which means spending her downtime brainstorming and scheduling.

The updated Ladyblog needs to be precise in its revisions, which is why she plans on spending the little internet time she does have chatting with Nino. Lately, he had been more firm in his stances as well as honest in his opinions, and Alya was going to need all the criticism she could get before publishing her updates.

When she logs in to the messenger app, however, it appears that the conversation is going to go a bit differently.

_ Nino: hey sorry to unload like you like this but that fight w sp is still on my mind. like i don't even know why i yelled at him like that when he isn't going to remember. but it's pretty messed up how he spoke about marinette like that. i think his dad's understanding of how relationships should work really messed him up. _

She didn't have all the inside scoops on Mr. Agreste, but she had enough context to piece together that *something* was up with that guy. In addition to Nino's choice words, she was well aware of how restricted Adrien's schedule was and the number of times he had to cancel plans on them in the past. 

And while it doesn't surprise her to hear this latest piece, it still unnerves her. How could a grown man be so comfortable with crossing so many lines? 

_ Alya: it's fine. tbh i don't really blame u for yelling at him the way u did. if his dad is gonna look the other way, then sum1 is gonna have 2 break it 2 him that his attitude isn't cool. altho it should b an adult... _

It feels a bit hypocritical for her to say, somehow, but she doesn’t feel entirely wrong in saying it either. If her mother and sister hadn’t intervened with her summer grounding, things would have gotten worse between her and Ladybug, and there would have been less than a slim chance of her reviving the Ladyblog and making up with Marinette (if she even had  _ that  _ now). 

Summer was only halfway over, which meant only another month until the verdict came in. And from what Alya could tell, Marinette was having the time of her life without her. With all the time spent with her new boyfriend, designing outfits for Kitty Section and going to their concert, why would she spare a thought for Alya, especially after all the stuff she said? 

Finishing up her conversation with Nino and putting her notes away, she pulls out a blank piece of paper and begins to write anew.

\---

Ella and Etta love going to the park, so at least once a week, Alya gets dragged into taking them with her. In all honesty, she doesn’t mind  _ that  _ much, since she at least gets to go outside, and she’s allowed temporary access to her phone. The two girls are content to amuse themselves by pretending to be Ladybug and the akuma she’s chasing down, switching off every now and then, or sometimes having Alya join in so the remaining twin can be her new partner, Viperion.

_ So even the kids could tell that something was up with their dynamic?  _

Just as “Ladybug” is about to capture “Liar Boy,” Alya hears someone drop something from not too far away, scrambling to pick it all up.

“Oh dear, this just won’t do,” an old woman sighs. Her gray hair is tied up into a bun, and she wears a pastel yellow top with white pants. She doesn’t look much taller than Alya, though she suspects that’s because the author is hunched over. She struggles to crouch down and pick up the materials, so Alya quickly drops the act and runs over to help.

“Here you go, ma’am,” she says, picking up a folder, some paperwork, and a large tome. A quick glance over reveals that the title is  _ The Myths of Heroics _ , and that it’s a rather old looking book.

“Oh, thank you, dear,” the woman smiles, placing the files into her purse, “I was in such a rush that I didn’t put away everything properly. It would have been bad for my research if I lost something.”

“Yeah, it looks like you got a lot,” Alya says, “What are you researching?”

“It’s nothing, really. Just the burning curiosities of an old woman,” she laughs, before taking a moment to study Alya. “Hm. You look familiar somehow. Like that blogger my great grandson is always talking about.”

For the first time, Alya is hesitant to respond to that. Typically, she takes pride in her blog and gets excited when people recognize her for her work. But now, she’s hesitant to say anything about it, lest she revoke a reaction from someone that got mad about how she handled things prior to hiatus.

“He’s around your age actually,” she continues, ignoring Alya’s reactions, “And he’ll be starting school not too far from here. If you meet him, I hope the two of you can become friends. Anyway, I ought to be on my way now. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem, ma’am!”

She waves her hand rapidly, giving her the most convincing smile that she can muster. When she’s out of sight, Alya sighs. She’s never felt her heart race quite so much. Worrying wasn’t something that suited her well, and yet she finds herself doing so much of it these days. 

“Alya! We’re not done playing!”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming Ladybug,” Alya says, trying to let out a laugh. At least for now, she can preoccupy those worries with a game of superhero cat and mouse.

  
_ For now _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't catch the last set of commentary, it's here: https://xxxsaltybugxxx.tumblr.com/post/189808780609/atlwhitp-ch-4-pspotw-ch-9-commentary
> 
> So finally we're getting into the next arc. There will be one more interlude before the main storyline starts (it's going to be called "A Bottle of Exquisite Stuff"), and there's another interlude planned, likely for the end. There might be a couple of other ones depending on how I feel and if I think something needs to be expanded.
> 
> And yes, Alya is once again kicking off this arc. Go figure.


	11. I Know All the Songs

“ _ Let’s sway outside, nothing’s better. _ ”  _ Saturn Jig by All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors _ )

\---

Focusing on his gentle breathing and the soft scratches Marinette's pencil makes on her sketch pad, Luka retreats to his inner thoughts as he meditates on his bed. For the past month, he's found himself more and more in this position, trying to quiet his mind from anger.

It's like trying to smother a flame that refuses to die. Granted, it's easier now than when he was a child, when the fire engulfed his veins and caused him to lash out, destroying everything around him. Whether it was because he lost a board game against his sister or his mom came home late and didn't have enough time to play guitar with him, he would lash out and lash out hard. It got so bad, he found that there were times when he couldn't talk. 

His mom was easygoing and chaotic by nature, but she had her limits and she was not afraid to make them known. So when things went on for too long, Anarka decided it was time for some intervention, taking him to a specialist and having him examined. By the end of the session, they diagnosed him with autism. Looking back, it wasn't really a surprise. Even before his mother told him, it just made sense to him. 

What ensued were a few years of speech and social skills therapy, as well as lessons in meditation. And while it didn't fix everything, it helped him maintain some control over himself.

And with a single about to release, the new school year about to start, and the cat miraculous still in Hawkmoth's hands, Luka was going to need all the self control he could get.

His eyes flicker open, gazing over at his girlfriend. There's a contentness in her aura - she's not completely at peace, but she's more firm. Like mud drying up after a heavy rainstorm.

Meeting his gaze, she sighs and says, "I can't believe summer is almost over. It feels like we were just getting ready for Summer Sesh yesterday."

He hums in response, staring down at his guitar. His fingers are itching to strum the strings, but he doesn't have any tunes in mind to play then and there. 

She continues, "I guess that means I have to start leaving my sketch book here again, too."

"Even if you're in different classes with Lila?"

She shakes her head. "I can't chance it. If she really wanted to, she’d take the opportunity to mess with my stuff, no matter what was standing in her way. And if what Juleka and Rose has been telling me is true, she might just be desperate enough to try.”

“You mean with how everyone has been drifting away from her?”

She nods. “She’s going to notice and she won’t like it. And she’ll dig her claws deep into anyone that gives her the time of day,” she says, putting the sketchpad away. “Thankfully, I’ve already taken measures to deal with something like that. Anyway, I have to get going now. Alya is waiting for me.”

The inevitable encounter with Alya had been something weighing on her mind for the past week. It was obvious from her more careful steps, or how her tune would pause more often. 

He had his own thoughts on the matter. When she told him that Alya thought their relationship was fake, he cussed for an hour in his head, while violently playing the angriest song he could think of. 

But it wasn’t his decision if Mari wanted to work things out with Alya, and upon the realization that Alya was Rena Rouge, Luka would have to find a way to make peace with that. He didn’t count on becoming friends with her anytime soon, but they could be teammates.

She stands up, kissing his cheek before heading out the door. “Wish me good luck.”

“I don’t need to,” he says, “You’re my Lucky Charm, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, it's about time Luka got his own interlude.
> 
> I've pretty much adopted Luka being autistic as one of my favorite headcanons. Like, it just makes sense to me. Some of his experiences stem from my own (the way he processes it, and needing therapy, anyway). I wanted to touch on it, but I figured it made more sense to address here, where we are in his own headspace.
> 
> So next time, we'll be getting the first chapter of "A Bottle of Exquisite Stuff" and a Marinette/Alya chat. I'm really excited to eventually share the new class roster as well, so look forward to that post.


	12. And It Won't Be Long

_ “When you sleep tomorrow, and it won't be long. Once in a while, when you make me smile, when you turn your long blond hair.” - When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine _

\--

The Investigative Logs of Felix Graham de Vanily 

August 24, 2016

_ I've finally arrived at Grand-Mère’s place, with only eight days until the school year starts. It's cramped, but cozy enough. Certainly, I'll take it over sharing a roof with my cousin and pretentious uncle, not to mention that oppressive assistant of his. And then there's that bodyguard... I would never get any of my investigations done if I stayed there, so I'll simply have to settle for the occasional visit. Hopefully, mother will be a part of one of those visits, and I can secure one of the twin rings. _

_ As for today, Grand-Mère's apartment was innocuous enough, minus one box sitting on her desk. It's a minty green, her favorite color, and looks simple enough to open. But upon investigating, I realized that there were three different lock mechanisms, one of which involved a key. Of course, that means Grand-Mère is guarding something of utmost confidential importance in there. _

_ I must find that key. _

August 26, 2016

_ No luck breaking into that box, so I decided to study it and try to figure out the manufacturer. There was no label or signature on it, which likely means Grand-Mère had it custom made. Still, it's a bit strange that there wouldn't be a company or designer's name on it, as means of selling their services again. _

_ I searched the streets of Paris for whatever local artisans I could find, but none of them came even close to looking like the box. Side note: I was out for at least two and a half hours, and it's a good thing that I'm staying with Grand-Mère, because Uncle Gabriel would not be pleased. Adrien's been kept on such a tight leash, I wonder how he hasn't outright rebelled and gotten himself into trouble. _

_ While I made no progress with the box, I did find ideal locations for researching purposes. The library, of course was one of them, but I'm already familiar with it. There are also a couple of cafes and bakeries near my new school, in case things run too late. I only had time to try out one, and it was barely passable. Though to be fair, that's better than food I've had in the middle of nowhere England. _

_ Adrien is insisting that we hang out before school starts. He is so clingy, it's more like he's my kid brother. Although I can't really blame him considering my uncle. Still, I thought he had friends and other more important things to contend with, but he hasn't mentioned them since before the funeral... _

_ I have no other choice. I'm going to have to entertain a night at the Agreste mansion. Hopefully, I can get a better view of the place and strike the most suspicious spots. _

August 28, 2016

_ Yesterday's dinner was... interesting to say the least. Adrien and I will be in opposite classes, with him being placed with the Akuma Incubators. What a wasted opportunity. I'm not going to be able to observe akumatizations in their natural habitat. My only hope is that Adrien can be used as my eyes and ears to gain surveillance. Thankfully, he's already debriefed me on the previous school year. _

_ From what I understand, here are the previous classmates in the AI class: _

_ Adrien - Doesn't hold any special role in class. His akumatization happened over the summer, but from the spotty news footage I was able to gather, I couldn't piece together a solid motivation. And there's no way Adrien will simply tell me. So I can only conclude that it has something to do with Uncle Gabriel.  _

_ Nino Lahiffe - Adrien's supposed best bro. Supposed because he didn't seem all that excited to talk about his friends (or much of anything, really). He's a DJ and aspiring director, and was involved with filming a student film last year. Akumatized into the Bubbler because of a disagreement with Uncle Gabriel. There isn't a lot of coverage for this incident, only a small post on the Ladyblog, so I'll likely have to ask around about this one. _

_ Alya Cesaire - The Ladyblogger. Currently dating Nino. Unlike him, her akumatization into Lady Wifi is pretty public. I still can't believe she thought _ Chloe  _ was Ladybug. Speaking of which, she seems to be the reason for that akumatization. Anyway, her blog has been on hiatus as of late, no doubt because of the scandals involving publishing questionable information (mostly about that confession video). _

_ Chloe - Oh, Chloe. She's managed to start and end a superhero career in less than half a year, only surprising in the fact that she managed to be a hero at all. She's been akumatized quite a few times. Once into Antibug over a petty disagreement with Ladybug. Twice into Queen Wasp (once being told she couldn't be a hero, which is understandable considering who Chloe is, the other on Hero's Day) and the last time into Miracle Queen (again from being rejected from the team... even though the first time should have stuck). Things are not looking good for her family, as even Uncle Gabriel is shunning them. _

_ Ivan Bruel, Juleka Couffaine and Rose Lavillant - All members of Kitty Section, including Juleka's older brother, Luka. They were akumatized into Stoneheart, Reflekta and Reflekdoll, and Princess Fragrance respectively. All of them have been akumatized at least one time because of Chloe. Interestingly, there wasn't much I found on Reflekdoll, so I'm not sure how Adrien knew about her. This will require further investigation. _

_ Alix Kubdel and Le Chien Kim - The daughter of the museum director and the all-around athlete of the school. By this time, Adrien was trying to downplay Chloe's actions, but I could tell she was involved with them being akumatized. Other than that, not much to note on these two. _

_ Mylene Harpele - The girlfriend of Ivan Bruel and an eco-activist. Akumatized into Horrificator because of Chloe. Why am I not surprised by this point? _

_ Max Kante - A certified genius, creating a sentient robot, as well as a competitive gamer. Surprisingly, he was akumatized because he lost a gaming qualifier, and not because of Chloe.  _

_ Nathaniel Kurtzberg - The quiet artist. Akumatized because Chloe revealed his crush on one Marinette Dupain-Cheng to the class.  _

_ Sabrina Raincomprix - Chloe's lackey. Akumatized because Chloe.  _

_ Lila Rossi - The new exchange student. A major liar and likely has an ego the size of Mars. Akumatized into Volpina because she got mad at Ladybug calling her out in front of one person... Adrien. She is someone I'll have to keep my eye on... _

_ Caline Bustier - The teacher, akumatized into Zombizou, although Adrien wasn't clear on the details. Possibly motivated by Chloe again, but I'll have to investigate further. _

_ Marinette Dupain-Cheng - An interesting case, as she has yet to be akumatized despite “being at odds” with Chloe (likely meaning that Chloe has been going after her for years, hopefully someone who isn’t painfully biased can give me proper information on that) and Lila. She’s the one who designed the hat for Uncle Gabriel’s spring fashion show, designed a pair of sunglasses and an album cover for Jagged Stone, as well as jackets for Kitty Section. She’s dating Luka Couffaine. _

_ Kagami Tsurugi - Not a part of the class, but is supposedly a good friend of Adrien’s. Uncle Gabriel is the one that brought her up though, so I’m not sure how good a friend she really is. She is, of course, the daughter of Tomoe Tsurugi, the CEO of Tsurugi Textiles. Uncle is looking to build a business relationship with her, and intends to design new clothes using her eco friendly fabrics in a large showcase. _

_ Dinner was largely tolerable, since we spent more time discussing the class than boring things like me modeling for Uncle Gabriel. It seems he’s still obtuse as ever. Adrien was disappointed as well, but I know how to ignore that and move on. Thank god I’m not living there, because it would be persistent and I’d have to live with it every day. _

_ Regardless, hopefully I can get further information at school. _

September 1, 2016

_ Just as I hoped, the first day of school was highly productive. I was able to gain information where needed, witness an akuma firsthand, and make contact with Ladybug and Viperion. I will now detail the events below: _

_ \--> I may finally have a lead on the mystery box designer. I happen to be locker neighbors with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and was able to study the interior of her door. I noticed her placing little clips or buttons in very particular places. My guess is that these aren’t regular buttons, but I have no way of knowing without prying my way in there. Or if perhaps she leaves the door open long enough for me to study them… I’m also seated behind her, so I can spy on whatever work she makes. _

_ → At lunch, I was able to gather intel from one Aurore Beaureal and Fleur Reil. Aurore was my original informant, but she eventually became suspicious of me and made a run for it. Makes sense considering she appears to be friends with Marinette. That’s not the case with Fleur - if anything, she seems to be getting along with Lila and Sabrina.  _ _ Knowing that likely means her information is suspect, but cross referencing it with Adrien and Aurore's testimonies and evidence found on social media shows some kernels of truth. Marinette has quite the impressive track record, having also been the class rep for the Akuma class. No doubt she'll try running again this year. _

_ \--> She also seemed to have a falling out with the Ladyblogger, but that appears to be resolved. They were on speaking terms. _

_ \--> She acted rather suspiciously around my Grand-Mère. She almost said her name before correcting herself, so I'm certain the two know each other somehow, but they don't want me to know why. _

_ \--> The Ladyblogger has yet to post anything new on her blog since the Desperada attack. Not even today after she said she would record footage of Friend Zone.  _

_ \--> Lila Rossi is more of a polarizing character than I realized. She was rather popular last year, but public opinion has changed. Marinette hates her, and she used to be friends with Alya, but from what Fleur said, Lila has been getting the cold shoulder treatment from her. I did notice that during lunch, Alya confronted Lila and neither one walked away happy. This was before Alya spoke to Grand-Mère. _

_ \--> It seems that Lila is a reputable liar. When she returned to school last year, she claimed that she had tinnitus from rescuing Jagged Stone's cat at the airport. He got rid of the cat because he had allergies. However, a recent livestream had him claim that not only didn’t he have allergies to cats, he never had a pet cat, and a decent chunk of the student body refuses to associate with her. Fleur was one of the few that seemed to sympathize with her, along with Sabrina.  _

_ \--> I wasn’t able to observe much of Chloe today, but there are rumors that her friendship with Sabrina is on the rocks, considering what transpired last month. It didn’t help that she was nowhere to be seen during lunch, while Sabrina meekly hung around Fleur and Lila. I  _ did _ notice that they were locker neighbors… _

_ \--> When Alya returned to the store after the akuma attack, she pulled Kagami aside to have a private conversation. The two were savvy enough to keep me at a distance, so I’m not sure what entailed. _

_ Quite a bit of mystery was unraveled today. I finally have a lead on who the box’s creator must be. I must proceed with caution though, since everyone is starting to walk on eggshells around me. And with some mystery left, I can’t afford to be cut off so soon. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This interlude was a lot of fun to write, since I got to use a different style compared to everything else. Although I didn't expect to be writing Felix's so soon after his introduction, he had quite a few things to say, and I wasn't going to stop him.
> 
> A Kagami interlude should be coming soon, most likely after the next chapter.


	13. Tears Are in Your Eyes Tonight

" _ You tell me that you haven't slept in days. You tell me sleeping only makes you tired anyway. _ " -  _ Tears Are in Your Eyes Tonight by Yo La Tengo _

\---

Dressing up for events wasn't anything new for Kagami. There had been charity events and company parties that her mother took her to as a child, teaching her the importance of networking and first impressions. They hadn't been her favorite events in the world, especially since she met so few other people her age. Between that and having no friends at school, Kagami was often on her own. 

But today would not be like one of those events. Tonight would be the premiere of the Ladybug movie, of which her friend, Adrien, voice acted in. She had wanted for the longest time to have a real chance to hang out and bond with Adrien, and perhaps more. That had been denied to her before on an ice skating date, which had been crashed by his crush, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and her mystery date. Not to mention the akuma that followed.

She takes a moment to inspect herself in the mirror. Her outfit is simple - a red blouse with lace detailing, and black slacks, newly tailored to be perfectly fitted at her ankles. Her shoes are Mary Janes with a gold chain, leaving her comfortable and a bit fancy for walking around a movie event. 

Leaving her house and heading toward the event, she thinks she's the appropriate amount of dressy but approachable. And upon arriving, she doesn't  _ feel _ out of place. Adrien greets her upon her entrance, escorting her around the event and introducing her to some of the other cast and crew members. A few interviewers approach him, and she gracefully steps aside to allow him to answer their questions. Other than them, there are few interruptions to distract the two of them...

...until a flash of white and yellow comes into view.

“Oh, Adrikins!” Chloe squeals, throwing her arms over Adrien, and trying to press kisses to his face. He makes meek attempts to thrash out of her grasp, but eventually gives up and grants her a weak smile.

It’s rather insulting how Chloe comes onto the scene. There’s the fact that she’s not even dressed appropriately for the occasion, still donning an outfit that’s meant for school rather than a big movie event. It’s not as though she can’t afford a nice outfit to wear, seeing as her mom was an infamous fashion critic.

Of course, that’s not what offends her the most. No, it’s the way that Chloe clings to Adrien as he uncomfortably tries to bear it

“H-Hey, Chloe,” he says, clearing his throat, “Uh, what are you doing here?’

“Adrien, you know that you don’t have to put up with her,” Kagami points out.

“Well,” he hesitates, biting his lip, “She  _ is  _ a childhood friend, and I don’t really want to cause a big scene-”

“ _ Excuse _ you,” Chloe huffs, “In case you’ve forgotten,  _ I’m _ the daughter of Mayor Bourgeois, and Adrien’s first, real friend! I can come up to congratulate him however way I want, and you can’t stop me!”

Kagami thought she scared Chloe off when she told her to stay away from her, and not even think of messing with her. But that apparently wasn’t enough to stop the blonde from being emboldened enough to try anyway. The only thing that stops Chloe is when there is news of an akuma attack, but that’s only because Adrien manages to get lost in the crowd somewhere, leaving the two of them to hide on their own.

From her hiding spot, she is quick to alert her mother’s assistant that she is safe and nowhere near the akuma, but that Adrien got lost, and she couldn’t find him. She sits quietly in her spot, waiting for him to return, even after the akuma has been stopped. When she finds that he has returned, Chloe has already thrown her arms over him.

“Oh, Adrikins! You’re safe! Just where in the world did you run off to?”

“That, uh, that’s not important,” he says meekly, nudging the two girls toward the theater, “Anyway, we should probably get inside so the show can get started.”

There is no further arguing as they enter the theater, but Kagami bites her tongue as she watches Chloe settle down next to Adrien, cutting her off from further conversation with him, and having to watch the movie in silence.

Looking back, it was the worst feeling of loneliness she experienced in a long time.

\--

Summer vacation isn't far from now, and with her mother's inevitable business trips, Kagami will find herself out of the city and out of the country. But thankfully, there will be one trip that Kagami gets to go on with Adrien.

The incident with Chloe still bothers her. Not because of Chloe, but how Adrien clammed up on himself and said nothing despite being clearly not okay with being touched. She wants to say something about it to him during their time together, but she isn't certain if it's really her place. She's never been in that position before, and she's never had friends before Adrien, either. If she went to her mom for advice, it would be far from gentle and guiding, which left her in a tough spot.

But she tries not to think about that for now. She needs to prove to him that she can be trusted and that he can open up to her. They already had so much in common, and they got along despite the rough start. Whatever it was that allowed them to get along, she would continue to follow-up on it and get him to trust her. 

The train had just pulled up to the station, waiting to open the doors and allow passengers aboard. Mere moments are away from her being able to enjoy her holiday.

Just as the announcers call for first class to board, two girls arrive on the platform, waiting to take up Adrien's attention. Both of them are familiar, but Kagami can’t quite place where she’s seen both of them before.

"Adrien!" The one girl cries, practically panting as she arrives in front of them. Kagami notes the varying expressions on his face as he regards both girls. The girl with glasses receives a warm smile and a wave, but the girl with parted hair gets a grimace. It’s not dissimilar to the one she saw him flash around Chloe, and immediately, she gets a bad feeling about this girl. “I’m glad we made it to see you off before you left!”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” he says, averting her gaze as he scratches the back of his head. The hesitance in his voice makes Kagami all the more convinced that there’s something off about the one girl. “But you really didn’t have to do that. You could have just sent me a text.”

_ In other words, he doesn’t want her around. _

The girl seems to catch on to this, delivering a pout as she asks, “But I really had to see you before you left, Adrien. Didn’t you  _ want _ to see me?”

_ No, he really doesn’t. _

Hesitation lingers over Adrien like a ghost long awaiting to be exorcised. His response is delicate and diplomatic, but clearly fake. Still, the girl doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by it. However, Kagami can’t stand the awkwardness of the situation. She was not one to sit back and watch in silence. 

“If you’re quite done, Adrien and I have a train to board,” she declares, taking Adrien by the hand, “Come on, Adrien. They’ve already called for first class. Your…  _ friend _ has said her peace.”

There’s something about the way the girl with glasses regards her. As though she were silently cursing Kagami to damnation for having the nerve to be near Adrien. Didn’t she realize how inconvenient it was for her and this other girl to visit them like this when they were about to board the train?

“Oh my, I apologize for taking up so much of your time, Adrien,” the other girl cries, biting back a sob, “If I had known that you were going to London for the wedding, I would have rescheduled my charity work tomorrow so I could go with you. That would have been a lot of fun.”

With that, it suddenly clicks into place who this girl is. Kagami heard rumors of a new girl at school that did charity work for Prince Ali, and got Jagged Stone to write a song about her sometime after saving his pet cat and developing tinnitus, among other things. Of course, a few Google searches proved that these stories were all fabricated and meant to gartner her attention.

“I’m sure it  _ would _ have been, if you were actually telling the truth.”

At that moment, the girl wearing glasses is no longer content to simply glare at Kagami.

“Do you know who you’re talking to? This is  _ Lila Rossi _ .  _ Best friend _ of Ladybug. Do you know how upset she would be if Lila ended up akumatized because you were so rude to her?”

“Yes, I’m sure Ladybug is great friends with someone that brags about their connections. It totally makes sense for a superhero to want to be related to someone like that.”

“ _ Excuse _ you? Are you calling me a liar?”

“I never said anything like-” It’s at that moment she puts two and two together. When researching Lila, she stumbled upon an interview that shared this claim. “Wait. You’re the Ladyblogger. That would explain a lot.”

“And what’s  _ that _ supposed to mean?”

“That it makes a lot of sense as to why  _ she _ would have such a reputation at school,” Kagami says, regarding Lila with wary eyes, “She used  _ you _ to spin her tales, which you then used to get more traffic on your blog. A shame, considering you actually had some stories worth your time and  _ ours _ , but decided to focus on someone desperate for the spotlight.”

It’s absolutely laughable at this point that this conversation was still continuing. Kagami didn’t have time to waste on two people clearly intent on using her and Adrien for clout. Her mother had warned her of people like this from a young age, and that she was to be aware of who she chose to surround herself with.

The Ladyblogger (Alya, was her name?) storms up to her, getting in her face and not afraid to give her a hard glare. This must have been what her mother had been talking about.

“I’m really sorry,” Lila sighs, completely ignoring her friend’s hostility, “I just wanted to say goodbye to my good friend, and all of my feelings just overcame me. I realize that this is supposed to be an important trip for you…”

Lila doesn’t finish her statement, but Kagami can imagine what she means to say. 

“Adrien, do something!” the Ladyblogger demands.

“I, uh,” he averts his gaze to look at his feet, “Kagami and I should  _ really _ be going before-”

“ _ Adrien _ .”

She can’t help but tense in unison with Adrien at the sound of his name being called. Her mother has met with Mr. Agreste plenty of times, and while they had been on friendly terms, Kagami never got used to his stern face and piercing stare. Paired with a voice fighting contempt, even Kagami found it difficult to keep her cool around him. 

“I-I’ll see you guys when I come back,” he says with a nervous laugh, “Have a good weekend!”

He’s quick to rush onto the train, while she merely trails behind him, sending the Ladyblogger and her friend a warning glance. To her credit, the Ladyblogger meets her gaze with a similar energy before turning hotly on her heel and walking away.

Their parents were a few seats away, while Adrien waited for her at a window seat. Averting his gaze, he gives her a small look of acknowledgement as she settles down, before speaking.

“You didn’t have to pull me away from them, you know.”

She raises an eyebrow at this. From the tone of his voice, it sounds as though he is about to launch into a lecture, and after  _ that  _ confrontation, and being discovered by his father, she was not in the mood to argue about this.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she huffs, “You hardly looked like you wanted to see that girl.”

“She’s not so bad-”

“Then why did you look so uncomfortable talking to her?” Kagami asks, folding her arms over her chest, “There are two possible explanations I have in mind. Which one is more likely, Adrien?”

Frowning, he looks away. “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about it.”

They sit in silence for the rest of the ride there.

\--

Summer comes and goes, just as Kagami leaves and returns to the city. Summer is the time where her mother likes to handle most of her business relations, visiting relatives back in Japan, and having Kagami see other parts of Europe. 

She can’t stop thinking about the exchange on the train. They spent the rest of the weekend on pleasant  _ enough  _ terms, but Kagami could tell that Adrien was holding something back from her. And even when she attempted to prod, he would double down and turn away, leaving her all the more confused and out of the loop.

Soon enough, the first day of school arrives, and Kagami already finds herself off to a rough start. Since she had only arrived back in Paris two days before, her internal clock hadn’t reset back to normal, and she woke up later than she intended. Her mother had been in a meeting, thankfully, so she avoided a scolding, and was  _ just  _ able to eat and dress before being rushed off to school.

As if her morning weren’t stressful enough, she arrives at her classroom, just before the bell can ring, only to realize that Adrien wasn’t in there. At first, she thought that maybe he was sitting in the back, but upon closer inspection, it was somebody else entirely. His facial features and body posture were too different to be Adrien. A shame, since she would have had at least one person she knew well enough in class, and she would finally get to speak with him, face to face.

It’s not as if she doesn’t recognize  _ anyone  _ in her class. There’s the former Weather Girl, Mireille Cauquet, and her former rival, Aurore Beaureal, sitting near each other in the middle of the class. Sitting near the back, there’s also Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

_ Of all people… _

Kagami didn’t know much about her personally, but there were a few things she knew and guessed from what Adrien told her. She had been a friend of his, a good friend, but a friend nonetheless. She seemed sweet on the surface, but Kagami had a hunch about her. 

If her intuition was correct, she must have been the girl that Adrien had been pining for but was turned down. And yet, when Adrien decided to take her to the ice rink, Marinette just  _ had  _ to follow and bring her own date. Kagami could only assume that Marinette couldn’t afford to lose Adrien’s attention, but even when Kagami gave her a warning to step up her game, she didn’t make a move on Adrien. Now, rumors were that she was seeing somebody else entirely now (the boy she went to the ice rink with, actually), so what exactly  _ was  _ her game?

Settling at a desk near the front of the class, she waits for Ms. Mendeleiev to begin her lecture. However, a discontent expression crosses her face instead.

"Good morning class. I'm glad to see all of you settled into your seats without having to be told twice. However, I think a few seat changes are in order.”

The rest of the class groans as Mendeliev begins to shuffle everyone around. She’s hoping to have a seat alone so that she can focus on getting her work done, but have friendly sort of neighbors in front of her should the time for idle chat come.

“Ms. Tsurugi, you will be sitting next to Ms. Dupain-Cheng.”

As luck would have it. 

The two of them sit in relative silence as the rest of the class is assigned their seats. During the entirety of the lecture, Marinette radiates tense vibes, even with Kagami far away enough from her that there was no way she could be touching her. 

When she isn’t distracting herself with writing notes, she thinks about what it is she’d like to say to Adrien upon seeing him at lunch. Normally, the two of them head to their homes separately to eat. However, if she times it right, she might be able to catch him just before he leaves. Worst comes to worst, she can send a text asking for him to speak with her.

However, her mother has other plans. Upon immediate dismissal for lunch, her driver insists she get in immediately, as her mother wanted to speak with her. Looking over her shoulder, she can see Adrien already being escorted into his own limo, and she has no choice but to simply send the text.

Every moment at lunch is spent hoping the hour would be over, so she could return and speak to Adrien. Instead, she’s stuck listening to her mom vent about her tardiness that morning, her expectations for the upcoming fencing season, and her responsibilities for the showcase being held by the company rather soon. All during that time, she hadn’t received so much as a word from Adrien, leaving her to sigh and wonder if she could get a hold of him before class started.

The hour couldn’t have ended sooner, and she quickly finds herself shuttled back to school. Refraining from rushing inside, she scours the halls for a sign of Adrien. Plenty of the other students have returned (including, to her annoyance, Marinette and the Ladyblogger, who are in conversation with one another), but she sees no signs of Adrien lingering about in the hallway.

_ Where could he be? _

“Oh, Adrien, I would just  _ love _ to hang out at your place!”

Freezing in place, she turns back around, seeing from the corner of her eye a very familiar person. Lila and Adrien are inside of Bustier’s class, with Lila touching Adrien rather forwardly and inappropriately. Just like with Chloe, he looks like he wants to shrivel up and die, and Kagami is all too eager to jump in and stop it.

“I-I guess you can come over for a little while, just to see the place,” Adrien mumbles, not meeting her gaze, “But I don’t think that my dad will approve of me having company over. He’s been kind of strict lately.”

_ What the hell is he thinking? Why is he encouraging her so much? Just say no! _

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have that all figured out.”

Kagami catches the slightest trace of a smirk crossing Lila’s face, too subtle for Adrien to notice. But it’s an expression Kagami has caught a few times, and every time, the person was of suspicious motives. Once again, she takes out her phone to send a text, opting to take the more diplomatic approach. As much as she wants to confront Lila in front of Adrien, it wouldn’t be wise to lose her composure so quickly.

_ Are you available to speak with after school? I apologize for the repeat text, but it’s rather important. _

Other students start filing into Bustier’s class, including a boy with a red cap and a blue shirt, who escorts Adrien away from Lila and back into their seats. Kagami can’t gauge him properly, but it seems like this is the Nino that’s supposed to be best friends with him. She’ll have to put her faith in him watching out for Lila until later.

About thirty minutes into their class, Kagami finally receives a text from Adrien. She’s not the sort to check in the middle of class, but she finds herself slowly pulling out the phone, just to see what he says.

_ Sorry, but I don’t have time to waste on you. I have better things to do _ .

It takes every fiber of her being not to let out a furious yell. It  _ has  _ to be some sort of misunderstanding. 

As much as she tries to hold her anger back, she’s rather twitchy by the end of the day, her anxieties festering through class.  _ Just who does Adrien think he is, talking to me like that _ ?  _ Treating me like dirt, especially when those other girls were invasive and helicoptering around him! _

Upon being dismissed, Kagami makes a beeline for Bustier’s class, but the two have already left. Striding toward the entrance, she’s just able to catch Lila dragging Adrien by his arm out of the door.

“Adrien,” she barks, flashing up the screen of her phone, “What is the meaning of this message?”

The two of them stop in their tracks, with Lila looking rather taken aback. Her arms are up in front of her body in a rather defensive, but vulnerable position, as if to advocate her innocence. When she’s under the impression that she won’t be rattled, she leans over, reading the screen alongside Adrien.

“Oh my, you look rather upset,” Lila sighs, “I’m sure it was all just a misunderstanding.”

Ignoring her, Kagami keeps her gaze fixated on Adrien. He merely responds with a slump of his shoulders.

“I didn’t write that.”

“Then  _ who  _ did?”

At this point, Nino has joined their conversation, looking at the three of them with pensive eyes.

“Yo, guys, what’s going on?”

Flashing the screen in front of him, Kagami scowls, “I sent Adrien a rather reasonable request to speak after classes, and he has the nerve to say  _ this _ .”

Nino frowns, and for a moment, Kagami worries that she’s going to have someone  _ else  _ to have to fight. But sure enough, he looks over to Adrien and Lila, studying them intently. “You know, now that I think about it, I did see Lila returning Adrien’s phone to his pocket just before class started again.”

Lila gasps, and then begins to hyperventilate. “N-Nino! What are you saying? I only meant to return his phone after he dropped it from his pocket!”

“Yeah? Why did you sneak it back into his pocket then? Why didn’t you tell him he dropped it?” When Lila opens her mouth to object, Nino cuts her off, “My guess, dudette? Whenever he ‘dropped’ his phone, you took it and sent that message to Kagami.”

Once again, Lila gasps loud enough that they begin to gartner a crowd to witness their confrontation. She begins to babble on about how she wouldn’t do such a thing, and how could Nino and Kagami be so mean, and so on. But Kagami didn’t bother to respond to a single word of it. The entire time, she kept her attention on Adrien, and Adrien solely.

“Kagami, come on. Everyone’s starting to stare…”

“Adrien, all I want is an answer. If you didn’t write this, then do you stand by it?”

“It’s not  _ that  _ bad. She only meant it as a joke...”

Not  _ that  _ bad? That was it. Adrien was entirely deluded and had been wasting her time. He had only wanted her attention to feed his ego, and when he decided that wasn’t enough, he allowed other girls to sabotage her, only meekly fighting them off. He was too much of a coward to just say so to her face.

“I’m  _ through  _ with this.”

“Kagami…”

“No, I’ve had  _ enough _ , Adrien!” she yells, much to the shock of everyone around them, “If you don’t actually want me around, you can just tell me instead of pulling stunts like this!”

Tears sting at the corners of her eyes, but she runs off for some privacy before anyone can see her cry. The Tsurugis were strong and held composure. She cannot afford to-

“ _ Friend Zone. I am Hawkmoth. It seems that your crush has never heard the saying ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.’ Boys like him must not be allowed to play around with a woman’s heart, and girls like  _ her _ will never learn to follow the girl code. I am giving you the power to teach those who disrespect you a rather important lesson. All I ask in exchange is Ladybug’s miraculous. Do we have a deal?” _

Fury and vengeance swirl in her mind. All she can think about is Adrien’s slumping posture, acting as if he had given up on everything. Or how Lila was clearly lying through her teeth and taking advantage of his doormat status.

_ That cannot be allowed _ .

“They must pay.”

\--

“Hey.”

Kagami looks up, regarding Alya for a moment. Her phone is away and out of sight, but Kagami is all too familiar with journalists. Even without a camera, they always had a way of catching you off-guard and using your answers against you. As far as she knows, Alya recorded her actions as Friend Zone, and it would be up on the Ladyblog, if not by now, then soon enough.

“What do you want? An interview for your blog? A chance to humiliate me in front of my mother?”

She hadn’t intended for the second part to slip out. But when it does, she sighs and turns her head away.

“No, I just… wanted to make sure you were okay,” Alya says quietly, “I know that we didn’t get along before, but-”

“Don’t you think I know how  _ foolish _ I looked, getting so flustered and upset over a  _ boy _ ?” she hisses, looking down at her feet, “My mother taught me to be better than that, to not lose my composure over something sentimental like that. And yet, I still did…”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Alya points out, “I’ve also done stupid things for the sake of love, and you’ve seen that firsthand.”

Kagami has to do a double take to make sure that this was the same person she confronted only months prior. 

“Lila was trying to get a rise out of you,” Alya continues, sitting down next to you, “Whatever her exact motives are, she only looks out for herself and what she wants. She did the same to me, using me to make her look good and get attention. And even when I was warned not to listen to her, I still chose to help her. If I had listened earlier, I could have saved myself a lot of grief, especially when it came to the Ladyblog,” she sighs, looking over at her phone. From the corner of her eye, Kagami spots some footage of her akumatized self.

“Are you going to-”

“No,” Alya says, hitting delete on the screen, “Until I make things right on the Ladyblog, I have no right to post something like that. Especially after seeing how much trouble it’s causing you. Tell me, did your mom get really upset about you getting akumatized the first time?”

She nods, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. “Not at me, exactly but… she received quite a few questions from interviewers and glances from employees at work concerning my well-being. We’re supposed to be doing a special show not too long from now, and she’s worked long and hard to make it happen. The thought of her having to leave Paris because of me would just be too much and I can’t…”

It finally happens. The tears start to spill down her cheeks, and despite how much she tries, she can’t stop it. She turns her face away from Alya, hoping she can keep herself quiet enough for her not to hear the sobs.

“I get what you mean,” Alya says, patting her shoulder, “Because of my actions, I ended up disappointing my sister and my mom. At the time, I was just thinking about my own problems, and tried to justify doing so. But Kagami, I  _ chose  _ to do that, no akuma involved. Hawkmoth got in your ear and took advantage of that. What matters now is how you choose to handle the aftermath. And if you want any help, I’d be more than happy to have your back.”

She nods, standing up and wiping the rest of her tears away. Well,  _ trying  _ to. Her eyes are still watery, and she can’t help hiccup once or twice. When she finally looks at Alya, she can see that her hand

“Okay,” she says.

“Good. We can start over fresh,” she chirps, “Tell me, would you like to eat lunch tomorrow?”

She smiles back. “That would be great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After long last, Kagami's interlude.
> 
> I liked Kagami's outfit in Animaestro, but I felt like the creators were trying too hard to remind us of the Tsurugis being Japanese. So I put her in something different, just to spice up her wardrobe. If another event in the story were to come and she was around for it, I might bring back her original outfit for that.


	14. Counting Stars in Her Perfume Jar

“ _ She’s collecting memories, and putting them away. She’s counting stars, in her perfume jar. Who do you love? Who do you love?” - Jessamin by Darling Violetta _

_ \-- _

_ July 2, 2016 _

Swinging the door open and kicking her shoes off, she heads to the kitchen to grab a snack and to make a cup of coffee. Sitting on the counter is a note messily written in her mother’s rushed handwriting. There’s no need to look at it to know of its contents, and she can practically predict every line that it’s going to say.

_ Dearest Lila, _

_ Something came up at the embassy, so I will have to stay late tonight. Please send me a text as soon as you see this letter. I will call you as soon as I know when I’ll be coming home. There are leftovers in the fridge from last night, so feel free to just heat those up. I left you the account details for Netflix, if you would like to watch something.  _

_ If I don’t see you until tomorrow, then have a good night, my little dove. _

_ Love, _

_ Mom _

Tossing the note away, she retreats to her room and pulls out her laptop, keeping an eye on her phone for any messages from Alya or her other classmates. Later, she will have to sleuth on social media for any juicy tidbits to work into her schemes, but after a long day with Alya, she just wanted to relax and watch a movie.

\--

_ She didn’t expect an opportunity to present itself to her, but Alya’s complete and utter obliviousness to anything outside of her interests shone through for her, not only allowing her a moment to sabotage Adrien’s “date” with that Tsurugi girl, but also giving her the opportunity for her to temporarily borrow Alya’s phone for key information. She did have to contend with Alya’s sister calling her five times, but she made sure to switch Alya’s phone to vibrate after pocketing it from her. _

_ Of course, she still had to be covert. Alya couldn’t live without her phone, so Lila really had to go out of her way to spin some tales to keep her occupied and from wanting to look at a screen. There were only a few times Lila was able to keep her distracted long enough to steal a glance at Alya’s messages, and to take pictures with her own phone. One such instance involved stopping on a bridge to make Alya close her eyes for five minutes and make a wish to resurrect Parthenope the siren. _

_ “There’s a rumor that Parthenope wore a sapphire necklace,” Lila explained, “But when her body washed up on Naples, it was no longer there. Some think it could be in Parisian canals!” _

_ “That’s amazing!” Alya exclaimed. _

_ “Well, it’s just a myth,” Lila pointed out, “However, they say if enough people stop at a canal, close their eyes for five minutes and wish for Parthenope to be resurrected, the necklace will wash ashore.” _

_ “That seems kind of silly,” Alya hummed, “But what kind of journalist would I be if I didn’t try to investigate it properly?” _

That wouldn’t matter. You’re just as easily manipulated as everyone else, you tabloid news writer.

_ “Yes, you should give it a chance,” Lila said, patting her shoulder. “Go ahead, I’ll keep track of time for you.” _

_ Alya easily obliged, giving Lila full access to her phone. She didn’t have time to read absolutely everything, so she made sure to use her own phone to take pictures of the most interesting messages off Alya’s phone, as well as copy her contacts list. However, one message thread caught her attention. _

Alix: Fat chance. You dragged me out of the house for nothing , I’m not about to lose more time over some stupid mission.

Mylene: I’m sorry, but I’m spending the afternoon with my dad. It’s one of the few days off he gets.

Rose: sorry, alya!! D: but neither me nor jules want to break up lukanette, even if we liked adrinette a lot! we’re team mari!!

_ For a moment, all Lila could do was glare at the message thread and then back at Alya. So the Ladyblogger wasn’t the sweet, encouraging mom friend after all.  _

_ Not that Lila believed that for a second. Everyone deep down was selfish, just like her. But people like Marinette and Alya were so self-righteous about their “virtues” that it made her sick. _

_ Lila was not Alya’s number one choice, and that would be her biggest mistake. She didn’t even care anymore if Alya caught her with her phone. Let her feel bad for even thinking of trying to use Lila as a pawn. _

_ So what if Alya found out, missed what she assumed to be urgent messages from her sister, and got in trouble for it? She was so tightly wrapped around Lila’s finger, she wouldn’t possibly suspect Lila of foul play. All she would have to do was bat her eyes like a kicked puppy and pout like a child that was about to lose their favorite toy. Besides, it was clear from her messages that Lila was just a pawn in her own scheme - Lila was only returning the favor. _

_ ...Although misleading her about Marinette was also pretty nice. If Lilla was going to keep her control over Alya, divide and conquer was pretty necessary. And Marinette was only making it too easy by spending more time with that new boyfriend of hers.  _

He won’t stay her boyfriend for long, if I have anything to say about it. 

\--

_ August 31, 2016 _

Things were going well until they weren’t.

Alya has limited access to her phone during summer break because of her grounding. They thankfully had a couple of days left at school for her to talk about it, but if she wanted to speak to Lila after that, she had to steal her phone and sneak back into her room. So for a time, they had some contact, allowing Lila to sour Alya’s opinion of Marinette’s new relationship.

(Of course he was just as much of a self-righteous goody two-shoes, just like  _ Marinette _ . No wonder she picked him over Adrien).

Meanwhile, Lila spent her summer generally avoiding the rest of her class, pretending that she was off on a grand vacation in Morocco. To be fair, she  _ did  _ get out of the summer for a couple of weeks - mostly to go to Versailles. And she  _ did  _ spend two weeks in Naples, visiting her father’s side of the family. But she would hardly consider that a vacation.

When she wasn’t “on vacation,” she spent a lot of time taking selfies or posting pictures of activities that she saw got a lot of likes. Bullet journaling and meditation seemed like good options to go with, and sure enough, they turned into some of her most popular posts. However, it seemed that most of her class weren’t responding to her posts, and in fact, she lost quite a few of them as followers.

Despite all of that, she was fully confident that she still had a strong grip on Alya, who would be desperate to see her as soon as they made it into class. From there, Lila could work on improving her image, and perhaps set the record straight with Alya regarding who was the pawn in the schemes.

She spends her last day of summer break inside for the most part, waiting for school the next day to make her dramatic entrance. After dinner, she settles back into her room, scrolling through her feeds to watch something to watch, when a livestream catches her attention: 

**Kitty Section First Single Liveshow!**

In the thumbnail, she can see three of her classmates, as well as Marinette’s boy toy, Luka, a woman she recognizes as an upcoming musician, and Jagged Stone himself. A lump forms at the bottom of her stomach, and hesitantly, she clicks the link to watch the show.

It seems that they’re in the middle of Two Truths, One Lie. The musician Lila barely recognizes is apparently multilingual and says something in both Spanish and English, which she’s somewhat able to make it. Despite her mother’s attempts to tutor her, English wasn’t her specialty. Spanish, on the other hand, was closer to her native language, and thus, easier to pick up.

“_That’s fantastic!_ _Well, since no one got that right, I think our other special guest should get to go next. Jagged?_”

Lila doesn’t miss the smirk that Jagged sports, staring at both Juleka and Luka.

_ "I’m allergic to non-organic flour, cats, and coffee." _

She clutches her pillow, ready to scream and curse the world for giving her such rotten luck.  _ They wouldn’t,  _ she scowls, ready to reach across the screen and strangle all of those smug-looking brats.

“ _ Gee, I don’t know. Was it…cats?” _

_ “Ah, yes. Very good. I can’t handle certain coffee beans. Not really sure why. It just means I have to live in a world where I have to wake up without making it. My pastries can only be made with organic flour, or else I’ll have problems breathing. But cats? Was always more of a dog person myself, so I’ve never had one, but they’re alright.” _

“ _ I hate you _ !” she screeches, chucking the tablet at the floor, before throwing herself on her bed. “All of you!  _ Traditori! Siete vigliacchi! Spero che voi siate maledatti dal Malocchio! _ ”

Plans of revenge fill her head, finding ways to humiliate all of the members of Kitty Section, ruining their careers, and more importantly, making Marinette out to be the bad guy. Sure, she wasn’t on camera, but Lila knew for a fact that Marinette convinced them to do the segment on the show to  _ ruin  _ her! They weren’t even trying to hide their stupid looking smirks or have any degree of sublety. 

“ _ Lila _ ! Are you okay?” her mother calls out, forcing the door to her room open.

She lets out a sharp breath, “Yes, mother. It was just a bad dream.”

_ No, mother, I’m not. But, if I get akumatized now, I’ll only out myself. I have to wait. I can fix this. If I just explain things to everyone, it’ll be alright. And besides, what are the chances that they even remember that story anyway? _

“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie. Tell you what, why don’t I make something for you to drink so that you can get a proper night’s rest before your big day tomorrow?”

“Yes, mother. That would be lovely.”

\--

_ September 1, 2016 _

The locker room has been slightly rearranged, making her neighbors with Chloe’s lackey, Sabrina, and a blonde named Fleur. She reminds Lila of a wilted flower upon first glance, keeping to herself and shooting shy glances around the room to see if anyone would talk to her. The moment that Lila gives her any amount of attention, she perks right up and is eager to please.

“By the way, you’re Italian, right?” she asks excitedly, having finished explaining her summer spent working in her mother’s boutique, “Have you ever been to Milan?”

“Oh, of course. I lived there for a number of years actually.”

“That’s  _ amazing _ ,” Fleur sighs, “I’ve always wanted to go to the fashion capital of the world! That’s where my mom studied before opening the boutique.”

_ So she’s a wash-out _ , Lila figures.  _ Probably a failed designer and decided to open a store to compensate or something _ .  _ Still, I might be able to get good deals on stuff if I’m nice enough to her daughter… _

She spots Alya from the corner of her eye, and urgency returns to her. Patting Fleur’s shoulder, she says, “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll meet you in class, I just have to take care of something real quick.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe we can be desk partners!”

Lila only shoots the girl in question a smile, allowing her to scurry off. Before she can walk out of the locker room, Lila corners Alya, attacking her with the biggest smile she can muster.

“Oh my god, Alya! It’s been so long since we last talked! How was your summer?”

Alya closes her locker door, regarding Lila with a cold look. “Lila.”

She’s rather surprised to see Alya so…  _ unimpressed _ . Clearly, Lila miscalculated something and she needs to recover quickly. Clearing her throat, she asks, “I-I’m sorry I didn’t message you a lot while on break! It’s just I was out of town a lot and-”

“Save it. That’s not what I want an apology for,” Alya has the  _ nerve  _ to demand, “I want you to apologize for a. lying to me and b. stealing my phone the last time we hung out.”

At this point, Lila can’t help but gawk at Alya.  _ It’s all a trap. She’s being set up by Marinette or someone else jealous. Come on, you can save this. _

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Pulling out her phone, Alya shows her the “Missed Calls” tab. “You see all of those? Those are from my sister. She was trying to get me to come back home and babysit our younger sisters, which I  _ promised  _ to do. She ended up missing a pretty important fight because of it.”

“So what if you forgot?” she can’t help but ask, trying to keep her sweetest smile in place.

“I got  _ grounded,  _ Lila. I might have been careless and lost track of time, but you still chose to take my phone so I had no way of remembering,” she says, trying to contain her voice, “So tell me, Lila. Why did you take my phone?”

“What are you talking about Alya? Why would I do something like that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you’re a liar and you make stuff up, like being friends with Ladybug. Maybe Marinette was right about you this entire time, and you couldn’t stand that. So you tried to dig up some info on her through me.”

_ Of course Marinette was involved in this. _

“Please. Acting if you’re some  _ saint _ . I know you only ‘helped’ me with Adrien after your number one failed you. I was only convenient to you.”

“I’ll admit my motives there were not pure. I shouldn’t have used you like that, and for that, I’m sorry.  _ However _ ,” she says, staring Lila straight in the eyes, “I’m done with letting you encourage the worst parts of me. We’re not friends, Lila, so just stay away from me.”

She walks away in a huff. Which is silly, considering that they’re going to be in the same class. Lila flips her hair in response, before spotting Adrien glumly closing his locker door and starting to head out.

“ _ Adrien _ !” she squeals, throwing her arms around him in a side hug, “I’ve missed you so much! How was your summer?”

“Hi, Lila,” he says meekly, not meeting her gaze. “I, uh, it was okay. We should probably get to class.”

“Oh, we can take our time,” she says, batting her eyelashes. Still, she indulges him and walks alongside him to Bustier’s classroom, only letting go when he decides to sit down next to Nino. 

_ Now that I no longer have Alya in my grasp, I think it’s time we take a direct shot at Adrien. Maybe see what’s on  _ his  _ phone. _

Spending most of her morning and lunch break scheming, she barely pays attention to anyone else throughout the day, not even Fleur and her weird obsession with a boy that’s supposedly Adrien’s cousin. She spends most of her time chatting him up, leaving Lila to her own devices. It’s not until Adrien comes back from break that she decides to put her plan in motion.

“ _ Hello _ , again,” she says, getting closer to him, “How was your lunch?”

“It was okay.”

There’s something so pathetic about the way he slumps and looks as though he doesn’t care about anything. Lila has no clue what could have happened and she couldn’t care if it meant getting him to go along with her plans.

“You know,” she says, tracing her finger on his shoulder, “I missed you at lunch.”

“Maybe you should hang out with some friends,” he mumbles, “Go to their house or something.”

From the corner of her eye, she spots the Tsurugi girl walking into the line of vision. Lila isn’t sure if she’s watching or not, but she’ll put on a show just in case.

“Oh, Adrien, I would just  _ love _ to hang out at your place!”

She makes sure to make a whole circus performance of how  _ joyful _ she is at the idea, giving him small touches of gratitude and easily allowing her to snatch his phone without him being any the wiser.

“I-I guess you can come over for a little while, just to see the place. But I don’t think that my dad will approve of me having company over. He’s been kind of strict lately.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have that all figured out.”

She retreats to her seat and Lila thinks the day will be smooth sailing. In fact, she’s in such a good mood, she’s caught off guard by a text that arrives on Adrien’s phone. 

_ Are you available to speak with after school? I apologize for the repeat text, but it’s rather important. _

It’s from Kagami, and it presents Lila another opportunity to get rid of another rival. However, it’s a juggling act trying to send a response, with Fleur’s curious stares, Miss Bustier looking up at her class every now and then, and Lila trying to deduce the passcode. She’s only glad to have a seat in the back so no one else can catch on to what she’s doing. About thirty minutes later, after guessing Adrien and his father’s birthday, Lila correctly guesses the code - it was none other than the birthdate of Emilie Agreste, something that she had to look up on her wiki page.

Finally able to get into his messages, she types:

_ Sorry, but I don’t have time to waste on you. I have better things to do. _

While she has access to Adrien’s phone, she makes sure to copy his contacts into her own phone, just in case.

Before she knows it the rest of the day is over, and she’s quick to claim Adrien, easily slipping the phone into his pocket and escorting him to his limo.

“Adrien,” Kagami barks, marching up to the two of them and flashing “Adrien’s” message in their faces, “What is the meaning of this message?”

_ Ha, this ought to be good. _

“Oh my, you look rather upset,” Lila sighs, “I’m sure it was all just a misunderstanding.”

Looking confused but also deflated, Adrien averts everyone’s gaze.

“I didn’t write that.”

“Then  _ who _ did?”

Adrien looks ready to just take a lecture, and be humiliated in front of everyone, or attempt to make an escape with her in tow.

Unfortunately, there was  _ one  _ person that Lila didn’t account for.

“Yo, guys, what’s going on?”

Flashing the screen in front of him, Kagami scowls, “I sent Adrien a rather reasonable request to speak after classes, and he has the nerve to say this .”

Nino frowns, and for a moment, Kagami worries that she’s going to have someone else to have to fight. But sure enough, he looks over to Adrien and Lila, studying them intently. “You know, now that I think about it, I did see Lila returning Adrien’s phone to his pocket just before class started again.”

“N-Nino! What are you saying? I only meant to return his phone after he dropped it from his pocket!”

“Yeah? Why did you sneak it back into his pocket then? Why didn’t you tell him he dropped it? My guess, dudette? Whenever he ‘dropped’ his phone, you took it and sent that message to Kagami.”

The gasps and explanations come out of her mouth naturally. Normally, this would be enough to get someone to back off. However, it seems that the majority of the attention is off of  _ her _ , and Adrien and Kagami are the ones on center stage. She’s not used to being sidelined like this, and she’s also not used to the judgemental stares she gets from everyone that crowds around them.

“Kagami, come on. Everyone’s starting to stare…”

“Adrien, all I want is an answer. If you didn’t write this, then do you stand by it?”

“It’s not  _ that _ bad. She only meant it as a joke...”

She has to admit, she was actually  _ surprised  _ that Adrien would come to her defense. Granted, he wasn’t  _ denying  _ her involvement with the whole plan, but he could just easily throw her to the wolves and watch her be humiliated.

_ I hope you like the idea of being a part of my posse, Adrien, because you’re on my side now _ .

“I’m through with this.”

“Kagami…”

“No, I’ve had enough , Adrien! If you don’t actually want me around, you can just tell me instead of pulling stunts like this!”

She storms off, leaving her and Adrien alone with the crowd, which begins to disperse. For a moment, everything is calm, and her route to escape is just within reach.

“That wasn’t cool, dude.”

“What was I supposed to do, Nino? My dad already has me at home on a leash, and says if  _ I  _ get anyone akumatized, I’m going to lose everything!”

“Dude-”

He doesn’t have a chance to finish though, as an akuma, who they assume to be Kagami, appears.

“Citizens of Paris. I am Friend Zone and I am going to be teaching you all a lesson about what happens when you treat people poorly!"

_ Wow, what a horrible name. Someone really ought to talk to Hawkmoth about that. _

Somehow, everyone manages to run away, with Adrien  _ leaving  _ her behind!  _ What a coward! I’ll let him have it! _

The moment she’s left alone, she becomes the perfect target for Friend Zone, and is easily captured by her phone. For what feels like a long stretch of time, Lila is trapped on the other side of the screen, crying as much as she can in order to get Friend Zone’s attention.

“ _ Stop  _ such childish behavior!” she cries.

“P-Please let me go…”

“ _ No _ . Villains like  _ you  _ need to be stopped until you learn your lesson. I won’t allow you to go anywhere near Adrien!”

“I promise to stay away from Adrien if you just stop Ladybug!” she cries, “She’s also after Adrien, but if they end up in a relationship together, she’ll only endanger him!”

This causes Friend Zone to stop, lowering herself to the ground, and stare at her screen. Lila can see the outline of the butterfly over her face, so clearly, Hawkmoth is speaking to her.

“If I take her miraculous, you will stay away from Adrien?”

“Yes, of course!”

_ Tch, as if _ .

“...Very well. I’ll hold you to it then.”

Lila is released into the streets, not bothering to spare Friend Zone another glance. She’s somewhere in the downtown area, although she’s not exactly certain where. Spotting a rather cute-looking boutique, she runs toward the door, and becomes more eager when she recognizes both a familiar looking blonde, and a familiar looking hero.

“Oh, Ladybug, I knew you’d be here to save me!” she cries, throwing her arms over Ladybug, “That mean Friend Zone doesn’t want me around Adrien. I’m just glad to see he’s okay!”

“Gross, I’m not Adrien. I just happen to look like him, that’s all.”

_ Wait, I recognize this guy. He was talking to Fleur at lunch. _

“Oh, that must make you his cousin! I’m Lila Rossi and I-”

“Am wasting time,” he yawns, “Ladybug, can we please get this over with? The sooner I can return into my street clothes, the better.”

_ Ugh, what a snob!  _

Lila doesn’t pay much attention to what happens afterwards, only watching from her hiding spot behind the register. 

“Are you alright, sweetie?” the shopowner asks, “Tell you what, I’ll make you some tea later. You look rather tense.”

“Oh, I would like that, but I couldn’t impose on you.”

“It’s not a problem. I meant to make some for my daughter when she came home from school. I just hope she didn’t get hurt on her way back.”

“Your daughter?”

“Her name is Fleur. She goes to College Francois Dupont.”

“No way,  _ really _ ? We’re seatmates!”

And so the conversation goes. 

\--

_ September 2, 2016 _

Another day, another akuma attack. The plan to set things in motion is simple - now having Ms. Tsurugi’s number thanks to Adrien, she alerts her and lets her know that her daughter is cohorting with two devilish brats and that she’ll only get herself into further trouble after her akumatization the previous day. Of course, she makes sure to follow the three of them and send pictures. 

Everything was going according to plan, for the most part. When things weren’t, Lila stepped up to Ikari Gozen’s aid, trying to get her back on track and find that loser Ladybug.

And then fate intervened in the form of Viperion, using his Snake Eyes to knock her out.

When she wakes up, she has a small headache. It was nothing major, but it didn’t leave her in the mood to return to school.  _ Stupid Viperion. I bet Ikari Gozen would have won if he didn’t stop me. _ Seeing that she’s currently in the hotel lobby, she walks a few blocks before making it to the boutique Fleur’s mom owns.

“Oh, you’re back,” she greets, “Are you on your lunch break? I thought that was supposed to end soon.”

“Oh, yes, ma’am,” Lila says with a soft sob, “But I was caught outside with that akuma attack, trying to run for my life! After everything was fixed, I had a terrible headache, and my apartment is all the way on the other side of town. This was the only place I thought to come to so I could feel safe.”

“Well, that just won’t do,” she says, guiding Lila toward an empty chair, “Here, you can rest here awhile. Why don’t you give your mom a call and let her know what happened?”

“I-I’ll try,” Lila pouts, knowing that she has this woman eating out of the palm of her hand, “But she’s usually pretty busy at work.”

“You do that, and I’ll alert my daughter. She’s in your class, right?”

“Oh, yes. Fleur has been very kind to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that. She’s pretty shy but if you spend enough time with her, she’ll warm right up.”

Lila had long deduced that, but having her suspicions confirmed was comforting. With Fleur’s mother satisfied, she leaves the room, phone in hand to alert her daughter. Lila pulls out her own phone. As she expects, no one is available to take the call, so she leaves a message and hangs up. A few moments later, Fleur’s mother returns to the room.

“No luck?”

She shakes her head. 

“Then I will alert the school myself. Hopefully they’ll be able to get through to your mother,” she says, “I don’t have much in terms of food here, but I do have some tea. Would you like that?”

“Yes, please. I’ll take whatever you have.”

Once again, the woman leaves the room, returning with a pot of tea, and places it next to the register. She pours its contents into a small cup before handing it to Lila.

“It’s peppermint,” she explains, “It’s supposed to be good for headaches. Now you go ahead and relax, and I’ll take care of alerting your school what happened.”

“Oh, thank you.”

And just like her own mother, Fleur’s mom disappears in a flash, no doubt calling up Mr. Damocles as to what happened, and asking for her to be excused for the time being. What happened after that didn’t really matter to Lila, so long as she didn’t get into trouble. There were only a couple of hours left in school, it wasn’t as though she would miss anything important.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t skipped school before anyway.

Thirty minutes later, a prim looking woman with red streaks in her black hair enters the shop, directly calling for the owner. Her hands clutch a small object, which Lila can’t determine. There’s a brief conversation that Lila pretends not to overhear, but of course, her curiosity is piqued.

“...the person we want to wear this has to be a very special person,” the woman explains, “A model in the making.”

Lila bites back a smile.  _ How interesting. I might just have to get my hands on whatever it is she’s talking about, somehow. _

The woman “I hope you can find someone,” she pauses, looking over her shoulder and casting Lila a long glance, “ _ worthy _ of it.”

“Of course. I’m grateful your sponsor would donate something like this to our shop.”

The woman walks out of the shop, sparing Lila another glance, and even a smug smile, before walking out the door. 

\--

Another thirty minutes pass, and Lila’s mother arrives at the shop, relieved at the sight of her daughter.

“Oh,  _ dio mio _ , I was so worried about you,” her mother cries, hugging her against her chest upon seeing her, “Are you okay? Did that akuma hurt you?”

“I was so scared, mama,” she says, summoning her tears, “Thankfully, I didn’t get a scratch on me, but I have a headache. Fleur’s mom was kind enough to give me some peppermint tea and stay at her shop until you could be alerted.”

“I can’t thank you enough, miss, um-”

“Just call me Darcey,” she says, taking her mother’s hand and shaking it gently, “I’m glad things worked out. She looked really frightened by what happened.”

Her mother frowns, staring at her daughter and ruffling her hair. “I see. I’m sorry to make you wait like that, Lila. We’ll have to have a deeper discussion about what happened.”

“Oh, you know what,” Darcey says, pulling some box from the register, “I have a good luck present that might make her feel better.”

She’s quick to recognize it has the little black box that the stranger delivered to her earlier. She notices a small piece of paper sticking out from it, but it doesn’t catch Darcey’s attention.

“You’re giving this to me? Really?”

“Of course. It’s said to bring fortune and happiness to the person wearing it.”

Lila gives little attention as to what happens after that. She remembers returning home, taking some tea from her mother, and retreating to her room under the pretenses of taking a nap, but of course, she’s more curious to open the little box and find out what her prize is.

Upon opening it, something flies around her head, momentarily distracting her from what’s inside - a peafowl shaped brooch, dull as a stormy cloud.

The light finally stops swarming her, stopping in front of her face and revealing a sentient being with peafowl-like qualities. It has a stony expression on its face, as if unimpressed by its surroundings.

“W-What are you?” she gasps, poking her head around it to get a closer look, “Is this some kind of joke?”

“I’m Duusu. Don’t make a big deal about it,” she says, letting out a yawn, “I’m a kwami that can give you special powers, and you’ll be able to make creatures or whatever.”

Lila frowns, giving the creature’s words some serious thought. “Powers? You mean like Ladybug?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Look, do you have any fruit? My last owner was pretty stingy about feeding me despite practically living in a mansion.”

“Oh, my, that sounds horrible!” she gasps again, clutching her heart. The kwami doesn’t look the least bit fazed. “Just who was this awful person? I ought to give them a piece of my mind!”

“Please, drama queen. I know that Hawkmoth sent me to you for nefarious reasons or whatever. They were specifically talking about you being a good holder for me because of your ‘ambitions to destroy Ladybug.’ If you’re going to continue to act up, can you be twenty times  _ less  _ annoying?”

“How  _ dare  _ you? Are you accusing me of lying?”

“That’s basically what I said,” the kwami says with a yawn, “Look, are you planning on using my powers or what? Because otherwise, I’m catching up on my beauty sleep. Heaven knows how much of it I lost.”

She allows herself a long moment to glare at the kwami, hoping to get under her skin. But Duusu continues to just float there, not even pretending to look the least bit intimidated by her.  _ I’ll make sure that changes, soon enough. _

“Fine. Tell me about your powers.”

After listening to Duusu’s explanation, Lila is quick to transform, appreciating her new costume and form. Her hair takes on a navy tint, and no longer has the small knot tied at the bottom. A turquoise feather is pinned just above her right ear, matching the color of her dress. She has full length, draping sleeves, navy leggings, black boots and a skirt that stops at her knees in the front, and fans out in the back. The skirt also has a pattern of circles to decorate it, with an inner pink ring, and a dark blue outer ring. Deciding upon the name Incantatrice Blu, she plucks a feather from her fan, fuses it with an energy until it turns blue, and sends it away, waiting for it to reach a target.

“ _ Hello there… cell phone. I will grant you life and you will become the sentimonster Rue-be. You will help the little intern with her chores in order to lure out Ladybug and take her miraculous. Do you understand?” _

There’s no response, but she can feel the transformation occur. She’s only able to see snippets of what unfolds (of course that pesky Marinette and her friends _ had _ to be there! And when they dare to defend Ladybug, she can’t help but send her thoughts to Rue-be to project! Actually, now that she thinks about it, it felt like the sentimonster shared the same sentiments as her...), all leading up to the monster’s defeat. 

“Ugh! I was finally close to-”

The transformation drops and Lila immediately breaks out into a coughing fit, clutching for the corner of her bed to keep herself up. Her mother immediately bursts into her room, eyes wide open. Lila doesn’t have enough time nor the strength to attempt to hide Duusu. Thankfully, Duusu has enough common sense to hide anyway.

“ _ Lila _ ! Are you okay?”

“W-Water…”

In less than ten seconds, her mother runs out of the room and back in with a glass of water, helping Lila to sit up and take sips from her glass. While Lila is preoccupied with that, her mother places a hand over her forehead, checking her temperature.

“Oh, dear, you seem to have caught a fever. Are you sure that you didn’t get hurt, sweetie?”

“No,” she coughs, nearly spitting out her water before she can finish drinking it, “I-I thought I was okay…”

“This just won’t do,” her mother sighs, “Finish your water, sweetie, and I’ll make you some tea and soup for dinner. I’ll call you once it’s ready.”

“Y-Yes, mom…”

Her mother leaves the door slightly ajar, just to keep an eye on her. Despite that, it slowly closes until a slam could be heard, much to her surprise. Duusu has come out of hiding to reveal herself as the culprit responsible.

“W-What’s happening t-to me…?”

“Oh, yeah, I kinda forgot to tell you,” she says, “You probably shouldn’t use my miraculous that much. It’s kind of cursed. Or maybe it was broken. I wasn’t really paying attention when it happened.”

“ _ What _ ?” she nearly shrieks, before hacking, “How could you forget to tell me that?”

“I mean, you also could have read this note.”

Snatching the paper from the kwami, Lila unfurls the note, and immediately begins to read it.

_ Use this gift sparingly. You’ve proven yourself well. _

There was no signature, but rather, an illustration of a butterfly, which was no doubt Hawkmoth’s calling card.

“How is it a  _ gift _ if it’s broken?” she hisses, staring at the brooch, “And how is  _ this  _ supposed to be a warning? He couldn’t have been less cryptic?”

“Obviously he was trying to cover his tracks,” Duusu retorts, “If my miraculous ended up in the ‘wrong’ hands, he had to leave his warning vague enough so no one else would catch on. This is why it’s  _ so _ annoying to be a supervillain.”

“He can’t just treat me like another one of his pawns!”

“Don’t take it personally. He thinks of everyone as his pawn.”

Staring down at the miraculous, she scowls. Finally, one step closer to destroying Ladybug, but not without having to destroy herself.

“Ugh, I’ll deal with this tomorrow,” she groans, collapsing on top of her pillow.

\-- 

_ September 5, 2016 _

After giving her mother a convincing performance that she’s not well enough to go to school (which wasn’t entirely  _ un _ true - she still had a bit of a headache and some coughing fits here and there), Lila retreats to her room, turning on Netflix and settles down in bed. She’s promptly interrupted by a text message.

_ Fleur: Hi Lila! Class rep elections are today! I was wondering if you would want to run alongside me as the class deputy?? I know you’re pretty busy, so you wouldn’t have as many responsibilities! _

“Ugh, responsibilities,” she groans, typing out her response.

_ Lila: I would absolutely love that! Unfortunately, I can’t come into school today. Would you mind getting the homework for me? _

_ Fleur: Of course! Hope you feel better! _

The rest of the morning is pretty boring. She alternates between napping and flipping through movies to play, almost certain she’s running out of things to enjoy. The day continues to be dull and uneventful until she finally

“I think it’s time to experiment again,” she says, summoning Duusu, “And hopefully, my plan will sabotage Fleur’s chances of winning the election.”

Duusu sighs, “You didn’t actually want to be class deputy, but you need to keep Fleur around for whatever it is you’re planning.”

Lila could only blink at the kwami in surprise. For a rather lazy personality, she didn’t expect her to catch on so quickly to her. Still, it’s not as though her kwami can do anything to retaliate.

Her plan was to amokize her target and then drop the transformation afterwards. Sure enough, she’s able to send the amok Fleur’s way and create School Spirit, but even after undoing her transformation, her body still feels drained and weak, and she begins coughing again. 

Everything had its price. But if it meant ruining and dragging down Ladybug, even at the cost of her life, Lila would do it. And there was no going back on that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Lila is reacting to the livestream, she's saying "Traitors! You're cowards! I hope you're all cursed by the Evil Eye!" I thought it would be a nice callback to "Bewitched," where Lila twists the myth of the Evil Eye to isolate Marinette. She does the same thing with Alya here regarding Parthenope, a siren whose body supposedly created the shape of the city of Naples.
> 
> So yeah, Lila is the peafowl wielder. She was a pretty popular guess, so I'm sure most of you aren't surprised. Still, I enjoyed the speculation!
> 
> With that, the "Bottle" arc is officially over! There will be another interlude or two leading into the next arc, which I'm tentatively calling "There's a Horror in My Head," which is most likely going to be the last arc of the story. I won't know for sure until I actually outline it, but I have a good feeling that it's our endgame.

**Author's Note:**

> Now with commentary.  
https://xxxsaltybugxxx.tumblr.com/post/189579507704/atlwhitp-ch-3-hawkmoth-interlude-commentary


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